RAFA BENITEZ says he has identified the tactical failings which brought about defeat at Manchester City recently and insists he can put it right in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final.
The Blues were beaten 2-0 at the Etihad and Chelsea also failed to find the net when the teams met at the Bridge in what was the interim manager's first game in charge. That one ended 0-0.
But without giving anything away about his masterplan for Wembley, Benitez says he is confident it will be different this time.
“We know what we did wrong when we played against them and will try to do these things better on Sunday,” Benitez said. “We know that we will have to do our best if we want to progress.
“It's a very good team, with a manager with experience and they have a lot of confidence at the moment.
“They are in a good position in the table and they did well against [Manchester] United the other day, so we know that it's difficult. But it's the semi-final of the FA Cup, a massive competition, and we will try to do our best.
“It's always important to be in a big game. It's a big stadium with a good atmosphere and it will be even better if we win.”
In theory, City have a huge advantage in that they had no extra midweek game to worry about after Monday's derby win, whereas Chelsea had a tiring trip east to Moscow for a Europa League tie.
But Benitez is confident he has enough energy in the squad to cope.
“It's always an advantage when you haven't had to travel though I don't know how much,” said the Spaniard. “But we will have some players with fresh legs, so hopefully we will be fine.
“I feel like the squad are doing really well. Yesterday and today I was praising them, because they were working very hard and you can change players and still keep a good level, so I'm really pleased.”
Demba Ba should be available again, having resumed light training, and that will be important, with Fernando Torres having played 90 minutes against Rubin Kazan.
Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole remain unavailable as they recover from their respective knee and hamstring strains.
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