Chelsea stars in line for pre-Barca breather

Amid the disappointment at failing to return the English Premier League title to Stamford Bridge for the third consecutive year, Chelsea might also feel a twinge of relief as they limber up for the season’s final weeks.

While there remained a glimmer of hope of overhauling leaders Manchester United, the west Londoners, who must also squeeze in a two-legged Champions League semi-final with Barcelona and an FA Cup final before the end of May, were at risk of spreading their resources too thinly in their pursuit of an unlikely Treble.

Now that the league is effectively, if not mathematically, out of reach, Chelsea’s campaign has been brought into sharp focus.

All their resources can now be trained on delivering success in Europe, with the first leg of their double-header against Barcelona looming large next Tuesday.

With that in mind, the most pointed aspect of Saturday’s trip to West Ham is likely to be how many of his first team regulars interim manager Guus Hiddink chooses to rest ahead of the daunting trip to the Nou Camp.

Hiddink will be forgiven a little pragmatism, even if it puts Chelsea at risk of being humbled by one of their fiercest rivals.

Success in the Champions League remains the overriding aim of everyone connected with this intensely ambitious club, not least the owner Roman Abramovich, and Hiddink.

For all his good work since his appointment in February, it’s unlikely he would be forgiven by his boss if one of Chelsea’s more influential figures sustained an avoidable injury at Upton Park.

“We’ll make the analysis to see if any players are in the ‘overload zone’,” Hiddink admitted. “It might be possible for one or two to get a rest or to play less than they do normally.

“When we play West Ham, we won’t have the approach to let it slip away. But it’s true that we have to focus more on the up-coming Champions League games.”

In truth, the Dutchman must already have concluded that several of his players look in urgent need of recuperation.

His team gave an unusually leggy display in Wednesday’s goalless draw with Everton, particuarly given a win was essential to keep alive their faint title hopes.

It would be no surprise to see the likes of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien left on the substitutes’ bench in east London.

Hiddink may also decide that the meeting with Gianfranco Zola’s side gives him a useful opportunity to decide who best to deploy at left-back against Barcelona next week, when Ashley Cole serves a one-match suspension.

There are no shortage of options, although none are without potential pit-falls. Branislav Ivanovic, the right-back, is perhaps most likely to be redeployed, although that might depend on Jose Bosingwa recovering from a hamstring injury.

There are doubts, too, over the Serbian’s defensive prowess, a weakness which could be ruthlessly exploited by Lionel Messi.

Michael Mancienne has also featured in the role, although his youth might count against him, while Julian Belletti, a former Barcelona player, has experience, if not the legs, to fill in.

Regardless, it is a testing conundrum for Hiddink and all eyes will be trained on his team-sheet on Saturday to decipher clues.

While Chelsea’s minds would be forgiven for drifting elsewhere, West Ham have no such excuses. A win is essential to their own hopes of booking the seventh-placed league finish that would deliver qualification for next season’s Europa League, the successor to the UEFA Cup.

“We’re going to have to have our players all digging in,” Kieron Dyer, the midfielder, admitted. “We can’t have any passengers. Hopefully that will be enough because if their players all produce it’s going to be an extremely difficult game.”