Caretaker manager Frank Lampard has suggested that a number of Chelsea players will be given the chance to impress against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues head into the fixture with the Seagulls sitting in 11th position in the Premier League standings, seven points adrift of their seventh-placed opponents.
While Chelsea desperately require maximum points, the match takes place between two encounters with Real Madrid, the West Londoners already 2-0 down to the defending Champions League winners.
The meeting with Brighton comes three days either side of the two contests with the Spanish giants, leaving Lampard to juggle his options and ambitions.
© Reuters
Despite the importance of both games, the Englishman will naturally want as many fresh players as possible as they bid to overturn a deficit at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Friday, Lampard was naturally quizzed on whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be handed his first start in a number of months, as well as asked about squad rotation in general.
In response, Lampard told reporters, as quoted by football.london: "We'll see. The players have to feel when they train and how they prepare, the competitive nature in the squad to get a place in the team needs to be high. You have to compete in training. History says he (Aubameyang) has a fantastic goalscoring record.
He later added: "Firstly I want to win football matches, secondly I want to be part of the process where players get an opportunity.
© Reuters
"Tomorrow will be an opportunity for some players who didn't play in the Champions League or last weekend."
Lampard also confirmed that Kalidou Koulibaly would be sidelined for a number of weeks with the hamstring injury that he sustained at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Marc Cucurella replaced the Senegal international on that occasion, but the left-sided defender may be rested for this contest with Ben Chilwell suspended for the return leg and Benoit Badiashile not included in the Champions League squad.
Lampard also reiterated that N'Golo Kante's game time would 'be managed', an indication that the Frenchman will likely be rested for Saturday's game having come through 75 minutes versus Los Blancos.
Darren Plant
