Injuries have hampered the city side, who are missing Kevin De Bruyne (knee), Samir Nasri (thigh), Jesus Navas (hamstring), Fabian Delph (Achilles) and Wilfried Bony (calf) while manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that he would field a selection of youngsters, due to their midweek clash against Dynamo Kiev in Champions League coming up.
Advertisement
Premier League leaders Leicester City will rest up this weekend whilst their title rivals battle for their spots in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup.
“I always try to play with a strong team in every competition”.
Pellegrini’s side have failed to beat any other team in the top five, and he told a news conference: “We didn’t expect to lose those two games in a row against Tottenham and Leicester”.
Arsenal will put their Premier League title challenge on hold when they meet Hull City in the FA Cup for the third consecutive season.
Not sure who to pick on FIFA Career Mode?
Chelsea’s next tie is the FA Cup fifth round tie at home to Manchester City on Sunday.
“Deep down you must play with joy”, Hiddink said. It would also avoid a trophyless season for Chelsea, which is something that hasn’t happened very often since Roman Abramovich took over the club.
“But I’m not a fan and so, with the young players we have, I must see the game”. They also won it in 2010 and 2012.
“You can get to the end of the season and find you have had three league games postponed for the FA Cup, and one for the Capital One Cup final, and then I don’t think you have enough midweeks necessary to play all the games. It would not have been quite so hard had we been able to play on the Saturday”.
The Chilean has been accused of disrespecting the famous old competition, but he knows City as a club are now more determined to achieve success in Europe rather than a first FA Cup triumph since 2011.
In Terry’s absence, Branislav Ivanovic – who played alongside Gary Cahill against PSG – is set to keep his place at the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Hiddink has restored Chelsea’s confidence and belief since taking charge past year and is now targeting progress in the FA Cup to rescue a poor campaign. The draw appeals to me even with Manchester City resting some starters I think they have the quality to keep this game tight.
Advertisement
The interim manager said he was envious of Paris Saint-Germain’s squad after Tuesday’s Champions League game, citing the strength of their bench as a key factor in the 2-1 defeat.
