Jose Mourinho will rest key players against Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers ,manager of Liverpool (L) and Chelsea manager ,Jose Mourinho (R) will face off on Sunday

Chelsea representatives have agreed to Mourinho’s decision of fielding his second team against Liverpool in their Premier League encounter this weekend.

Back from a Champions League draw against Atletico, Chelsea will travel to Anfield on Sunday to play a crucial title deciding encounter against league leaders Liverpool.

But the Blues manager has prioritized the 2nd leg of the Champions League ahead of the league title as he is ready to rest his key players against Brendon Rodgers’s boys.

Veteran goalkeeper Peter Cech and defender John Terry have already been ruled out for the rest of the season after they suffered injuries against Atletico. While Mikel and Lampard will miss the 2nd leg due to suspension, Matic and Salah are cup-tied according to UEFA regulations leaving them as available options for the League game.

Branislav Ivanovic will feature at the centre with Gary Cahill. Ashley Cole is expected to start since January 11 while Tomas Kalas, 20 may be the only youngster to slot into the right back position.

While returning from the Vicente Calderon, the team selection process for the game against Liverpool was discussed with the chief executive, Ron Gourlay, and the sporting director, Michael Emenalo. Together with the chairman Bruce Buck, the duo passed along the manager’s message to club owner Roman Abramovich . It is believed that the Russian is on the same page as his manager and Mourinho’s selection will be reflected in the weekend,

Mourinho has been critical of the FA, voicing his discontent at the schedule for the only “English football” representative in Europe. He has been surprised as to why the match at Anfield could not be played on Friday or Saturday to help his team’s chances in reaching the Champions League final.

Chelsea currently sit at 2nd position in the table. While they may have a chance to close the gap and hand Manchester City the initiative to get back into the title race, Mourinho has opted to fight for a place in the Champions League final as the only English representative of the Champions League as he said, “So I would play the players who are not going to play on Wednesday against Liverpool.”