Chelsea interim manager will take 'risks' with his players as they face two vital games this weekend.
Rafael Benitez says that he must take risks with some of his players as they face the "impossible" task of performing at their best twice in 48 hours this Easter weekend.
Chelsea travel to Southampton in the Premier League today before entertaining Manchester United on Monday at 12.30pm for their FA Cup quarter-final replay.
The Chelsea interim manager believes that United will have an "advantage" over his team on Monday because they are in a position to prioritise the FA Cup in the knowledge that their lead in the Premier League is almost certainly unassailable.
By contrast, Chelsea are still embroiled in a battle with Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton to secure one of the remaining three Champions League places.
While United may well field a virtual reserve team today against Sunderland, Benitez says that he cannot prioritise either fixture by playing two different sides.
"The difference from them and us is they're 15 points ahead in the Premier League," he said. "They can say, 'OK, we do that and see what happens'. We can't. We have to try to find a very competitive team for this game with the other game also in our head because we can't forget that we have just 48 hours.
"I don't want to say this as an excuse. It's not. The reality, because of their position in the table, is they have an advantage and they will not have another competition.
"They're not in the Champions League. For them it's clear. They are 15 points ahead - the priority will be the FA Cup."
From a purely physical point of view, Benitez says that the time frame between the two matches could not be any worse.
"It's nearly impossible to have fresh legs if you play 90 minutes against Southampton," he said. "Physiologically, it's impossible. The day after a game, you feel really tired. Two days after you feel even more tired.
"That's the reality - this second day will be really tough for everyone. You have to take the risk with some of them. Hopefully we can find a
balance between the squad and those games. We have been playing every three days for four months so we know, more or less, how to treat that. But two days between two games are the most difficult."
All of the Chelsea players will still train tomorrow but those who have played against Southampton will only be asked to take part in a recovery session.
John Terry could feature in at least one of the games while Benitez will probably juggle between strikers Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.
There will also be a tactical briefing, with Benitez factoring in a range of variables into his final decision-making process.
"The main thing is our eyes, our knowledge, the conversations between the staff," he said. "All of them can play [both matches], but at which level? We see the players training every day and after we say, 'OK this one is fine'. You have to consider the positions of your players.
"It is not the same for a winger and a centre-back and you also consider the other team, their key players. After, you prepare the game plan. It's not easy to make a decision because it's impossible to be fully fit for the second game."
The matches against Southampton and United are part of a wider sequence of eight matches in the next 23 days that are likely to define Chelsea's season.
"We knew it could be like this," Benitez said. "In advance we were thinking about the best day for the matches but there were so many conflicts that made it impossible, more complicated. We know it's not ideal. We couldn't do anything."
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