Jose Mourinho has insisted that Tottenham Hotspur's involvement in the Europa League on Thursday will not affect the squad ahead of their match against his Chelsea side in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino's men were away to Qarabag FK in Azerbaijan on Thursday, ahead of Sunday's London derby at White Hart Lane.
However, when asked about the schedule, the Chelsea boss said at his pre-match press conference: "We did play this week and when you play Saturday and then Thursday, you have a long time to recover from the previous match to the Thursday.
"When you play Saturday and then you play Tuesday, you are immediately in accumulation, you are already in overloaded, and then even if you have a longer period to rest before the next match you accumulate in the first two matches, so this story is a one that doesn't convince me.
"You must have either a solution for everyone or not for anyone. For example in Italy, in Germany and in Portugal there is a solution for everyone. If you play Tuesday in the Champions League knockout, you play the Friday [before] in your league. If you play in the Europa League on the Thursday then you play on the Monday [after]. There are rules for everyone."
Chelsea had a Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Sian Cowper
