Chelsea weigh up strike pair

Drogba & Torres: Hoping to face United

Carlo Ancelotti is adamant Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres will have no problem forming a strike partnership as he weighs up who will start Chelsea's game against Manchester United.

Torres' British record arrival from Liverpool before the close of the January transfer window has raised question marks over Drogba's long-term future at Stamford Bridge due to the pair's compatibility.

Though Drogba started alongside Torres for the January signing's debut against his former club, he has been on the bench for the subsequent two games that the Spaniard has been available for.

Nicolas Anelka impressed as Torres' partner against FC Copenhagen last week and Drogba could again be out in the cold for Tuesday's showdown with Premier League leaders United.

Improve

However, Ancelotti has not ruled out pairing Drogba and Torres against United, saying: "They can play together without a problem.

"We are trying in the training sessions to put them together, they have to improve their combination but they don't have a problem to play."

Asked about Torres, who is still searching for his first Chelsea goal, Ancelotti said: "He will be involved in the game, I don't know how many minutes.

"Obviously for a striker to score is very important but above all in the last game we played really well.

"He had four opportunities to score in front of the goalkeeper and moved very well for the team. I was really happy about his performance, obviously he was not so happy and would prefer to score, and I think he will score."

Regarding Anelka's role, the Chelsea boss continued: "Anelka can show his quality when he has space. In a home game it is more difficult to find space.

"It depends on the behaviour of the team during the game. Against Manchester United I don't think we will have a lot of space but if we are able to move well at the right time we can find space to attack them on the counter-attack, so Anelka can show his quality also in home games."