Chelsea rookies centre stage against Marseille

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is confident Chelsea's youngsters can cope despite the absence of some key senior players in tonight's Champions League game against Marseille.

Frank Lampard has still not recovered from the hernia operation he had at the start of the month and Didier Drogba is suspended following his sending off last season for stamping on Internazionale's Thiago Motta.

Salomon Kalou and Yossi Benayoun both picked up injuries in the Carling Cup loss to Newcastle last week, but that means 17-year-old attacking midfielder Josh McEachran (above) will get the chance to impress once again after a composed and robust performance against the Magpies.

Daniel Sturridge and Gael Kakuta will be vying for a place up front alongside Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka. But if Chelsea go behind, the manager's options to change things look limited, with four of his seven substitutes likely to be teenagers.

Ancelotti, however, remains upbeat. "I have a lot of options. Up front we have to consider that Sturridge and Kakuta are [first-team] Chelsea players, as well as Josh McEachran. It's normal to have two or three injuries during the season and this is not a problem."

Chelsea opened their Champions League campaign with a 4-1 victory at Zilina while Marseille lost 1-0 at home to Spartak Moscow.

But after losing 1-0 to Manchester City on Sunday, Chelsea will be looking to reassert themselves and establish their status as contenders to win the Champions League, the trophy that has been the Holy Grail for Blues owner Roman Abramovich since he first took over the club in 2003. ·