Paulo Ferreira is likely to involved in the match against Blackpool on Sunday. Ancelotti intends to grant Frank Lampard a 45-minute appearance against Newcastle next week as he steps up his return from an adductor muscle problem. "He has a weakness on his adductor, and we want to strengthen that to avoid a problem when he comes back to play," said the manager. "The surgery went very well and there's no problem there, but his adductor is still weak. We want to avoid an injury."

The Portugal international full-back José Bosingwa will step up his own recovery from a knee injury that has sidelined him for almost a year by playing for the reserves next week, while Ancelotti intends to field such players as Ramires, Salomon Kalou and Paulo Ferreira against Blackpool as the champions try to maintain their lead in the table.