Carlo Ancelotti: David Luiz, Fernando Torres Will Start, Chelsea Won't Win Title

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he will continue to play both Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres together, despite a poor showing from the heavyweight pair last time out.

“My aim as a coach is to try and find the best solution with the players I have,” said the Italian.

“In this squad, Drogba and Torres are fantastic strikers and we have to try and do everything to get them to play together.”

Ancelotti also confirmed David Luiz will start at Fulham on Monday, but wouldn’t be drawn on where he will play in the back four.

This will be a sign of encouragement for Blues fans given the Brazilian’s eye-catching cameo last week.

The smart money is on Luiz lining up alongside John Terry in the centre of the Blues’ defence, with Branislav Ivanovic moving to right back in place of Jose Bosingwa.

The Portuguese not only picked up a knock whilst on international duty, but was also poor against Liverpool.

The other big talking point from the Chelsea boss’ news conference was his admission that the champions are all but out of the title race.

Instead, he set the target of the final Champions League spot as a “minimum.”

“The gap is very big, we have to be honest…we have to fight the other teams,” he said.

Chelsea head to Craven Cottage on Monday night, looking to get back on track after their initial return to form was derailed by Liverpool last Sunday.

They’ll find a Fulham side steadily improving under former Blue Mark Hughes. A late draw at Aston Villa last time out sees the Cottagers sat in 12th, but only five points off Liverpool in seventh. 

This West London derby is always fiery, and given Fulham’s improvement and the Champions' recent problems, this one will be no different.