Carlo Ancelotti admits he has a “problem” in defence as he takes his Chelsea side to Internazionale, while former Blues boss Jose Mourinho is concerned he may be overly familiar with tonight’s opponents.
“I know Chelsea well, but it doesn’t mean it’s easier,” said Mourinho. “Sometimes it’s more difficult when you know so much about a team as, if you don’t decide the appropriate information you need to give to your players, it can be tough. I played against Porto with Chelsea the year after I left. It was my team, with my players, and still it was not easy. We won one game and lost the other.”
“Carlo Ancelotti knows Inter very well, he has worked all his life in Italian football. He’s a local man, he knows everything about the players. It’s all about intensity with the English teams.
Mourinho will be without Cristian Chivu and Davide Santon, while Julio Cesar, who was involved in a car crash on Sunday, is doubtful.
Ancelotti travels to Italy without several first team players. Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, José Bosingwa, Yuri Zhirkov and Deco are all missing through injury, but the Chelsea boss remains confident.
“I’m not scared. We have to be focused on the qualities of [Inter] and limit them. What’s happening around Inter at the moment doesn’t make any difference to us. To beat them we have to do our best and give 100%, but Inter also have to give their best to beat us.
“We are missing two left-backs, and Belletti could play but he’s been out for a while. He’s been training for a week and everything has gone well so far. We will find a solution but the two absences in defence are a problem.
“I respect Inter, and I know they really want to win this trophy, but so do Chelsea; we want to play this game in a fair spirit but also with intensity.”
