Carlo Ancelotti struggles with Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres issue

Didier Drogba will return to the Chelsea starting line-up in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round replay against Everton in the absence of the cup-tied Fernando Torres, but doubts persist over how best to integrate both players into the side in next week's Champions League tie with FC Copenhagen. The Ivorian was omitted for the goalless draw at Fulham, replacing Torres with 19 minutes remaining, with Carlo Ancelotti clearly still juggling his options as he seeks better form from his two main strikers. The Chelsea manager must also ensure the likes of Drogba, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka – all regulars in his starting line-up – are not unsettled if omitted from the team. With that in mind, Ancelotti was keen to insist he had been implementing "normal rotation" in his selection with key cup fixtures to come, but that both Drogba and Salomon Kalou were likely to be picked for Everton's visit to Stamford Bridge with the club's focus inevitably now shifting away from their title defence. "I don't know if Didier was happy, but every player knows every game is important," said Ancelotti. "It doesn't matter anyway. We wanted to rotate to maintain his condition and to give everyone in the squad great motivation." The draw at Craven Cottage left Chelsea 12 points from Manchester United at the top but, perhaps more critically, two from Tottenham Hotspur in the last Champions League qualification place. A top four finish is the bare minimum expected of Ancelotti yet, should his team prevail against Everton then the scheduling of their fifth round FA Cup tie against Reading would prompt the postponement of United's visit to Stamford Bridge early next month and leave the champions without a league game until they play Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 7 March. Both Spurs and third-placed Manchester City will have played two more league games by then, potentially stretching the gap from each to eight and 10 points respectively. "The most important thing is to finish in the top four," conceded Ancelotti, who welcomed Yuri Zhirkov back to training at Cobham after a calf complaint. "I think we will be able to do this if we play like we did at Fulham. I'm an optimist, and there's good reason to have confidence. I try to be objective every time. The football we showed at Craven Cottage was good and we have to continue to believe in it."