Lampard hints at rotation for FA Cup quarterfinal against Leicester City

Chelsea’s second game in four days against top-three opposition sees us take on Leicester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals. The outcome may not be do or die — as in, it won’t affect our prospects of Champions League football next season — but with a winnable trophy on offer in the competition, advancing to the final four of the FA Cup would certainly be a welcome development.

“We are in a year of slight transition and of course our focus is the league, but when it comes to Chelsea, no matter what when you get to a quarter-final you want to try and get to Wembley and try and win it.

“We are building, we are working, it won’t be easy to try and win this trophy, but with the squad we have and the positive feeling we have at the minute in this group, we have to go in it with the right intention.”

As much as winning is a habit and part of Chelsea’s DNA, head coach Frank Lampard appears to be prioritizing the league at the moment. Then again, he may not have much choice given the schedule: City four days ago, West Ham coming up in three days’ time.

Fortunately, Chelsea are just about the healthiest we’ve been all season, and have a deep squad to call upon. That is the whole point of having more than just 11 good players after all!

“We will certainly have to think about if we need to rotate a bit to keep freshness in the players. It’s nice I can call upon players, particularly in certain areas of the pitch. We are not overloaded in every area, and that’s where we will address it at the end of the season, but in terms of what’s in front of us now, we will need that quality we have.

“We are fortunate to have a few players fit that weren’t so much before lockdown. I will be wanting something from pretty much everyone in the squad. It’s important the players who didn’t start against City or Villa stay fit, stay fresh and ready to come in because we are going to need a lot.”

-Frank Lampard; source: Chelsea FC

Since the restart, Lampard has used just 13 players as starters and has yet to actually take advantage of the increased number of substitutes, using only four in each game so far.