The impact of the changing of the guard at Chelsea will properly hit home in tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final with the interim manager, Rafael Benitez, expected to leave John Terry and Frank Lampard out of his line-up to confront Manchester City.
Both senior England internationals have been regulars for their club at Wembley since it reopened, with Lampard having started all of Chelsea’s 11 visits to the arena and Terry missing only one Community Shield in that time.
More strikingly Lampard has played in 32 of the 34 semi-finals or finals of the Roman Abramovich era, missing only the two League Cup semis of 2008 with a thigh injury, with Terry playing in 27.
Been omitted
Neither has missed a minute in an FA Cup semi-final or final for the club since 2006. The centre-half was denied involvement in the other seven through suspension and injury, meaning the pair have never previously been omitted when fully fit from a tie at this stage of a competition since the oligarch's takeover at Stamford Bridge in 2003.
That scenario will now change with the two veterans, apparently accepting Benitez’ rotation policy over a draining season that has already seen 58 games in eight countries. Both are expected to start on the bench as the manager selects what he perceives to be his strongest available side.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of great finals for Chelsea at Wembley and elsewhere and we’ve had some success there,” said Lampard, who is still expected to leave the club under freedom of contract in the summer.
“I don’t think anyone is an automatic selection with the manager at the minute because there are lots of games and he’s changing it regularly. So I’m like everyone else: I want to play every game but it’s not possible.”
Benitez, whose side returned from Moscow only a little before 2am yesterday, hopes to restore Ryan Bertrand at left-back after illness and will recall Branislav Ivanovic to the back-line, most likely in place of Terry.
Demba Ba, like Bertrand, trained yesterday and will compete with an in-form Fernando Torres for a starting position, though he could yet be kept back with a view to Wednesday’s west London derby at Fulham.
Ramires and Mikel John Obi are likely to start in central midfield against the Premier League champions.
“For any player, when they are out of the team, it’s very difficult and especially when they’ve been working so hard,” said Benitez, whose side visit Liverpool tomorrow week, after Fulham. Both games are critical in the pursuit of a top-four finish.
“But it is something you have to do. You have to explain to them. If it goes well, you say: ‘Great rotation’ and, if not, you say: ‘Ooh, he made a mistake.’
"But when you go to this stage of the competition you must be doing quite well."
Guardian Service
