Fernando Torres starts, Didier Drogba is on the bench, and the tea leaves are starting to become readable. Carlo Ancelotti's hints that Chelsea would go to a rotation with their striker position are starting to play-out. Drogba started on Saturday. Torres starts today.
FC Copenhagen Vs. Chelsea: Lineups, Where Fernando Torres Is Chosen Over Didier Drogba
There may be more to this than pure rotation, though. Drogba went 120 minutes on Saturday against Everton, Fernando Torres being ineligible for the FA Cup match. That combined with Chelsea's opponent, FC Copenhagen, makes it logical to rest the 32-year-old Ivorian.
But if rest is Carlo Ancelotti’s motive, it’s a motive that’s not reflected in the rest of his selection. Five players who played the full 120 against Everton are in the team, though it could be argued that none have as capable a replacement as Drogba.
But is Torres Drogba’s replacement? Or, is Drogba Torres’s? Given this is only the third match for which they’ve both been eligible, it’s too soon to tell.
Here are today’s starting lineups. Kick-off is at 2:45 p.m. Eastern, with Fox Soccer Channel handling the coverage. SB Nation Soccer will be bringing you live updates of this match as well as Lyon-Real Madrid, also scheduled to kick-off at 2:45 p.m.
Copenhagen, Starting XI: Johan Wiland - Zdenek Pospech, Mattias Zanka Jorgensson, Mikael Antonsson, Oscar Wendt - Cristian Bolaños, Claudemir, William Kvist Jorgensen, Jesper Gronkjaer - Cesar Santin, Dame N'Doye
Copenhagen, Bench: Jos Hooiveld, Kim Christensen, Kenneth Zohore, Martin Vingaard, Pierre Bengtsson, Thomas Delaney, Thomas Kristensen
Chelsea, Starting XI: Petr Cech - José Bosingwa, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Ashley Cole - Ramires, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard - Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Torres, Florent Malouda.
Chelsea, Bench: Ross Turnbull, Paulo Ferriera, Yuri Zkirkov, Mikel John Obi, Josh McEachran, Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba
Note: David Luiz is ineligible, cup-tied from his time with Benfica.
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