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Rank Lampard insisted that he will not jeopardize Chelsea’s drive for the Premier League title with his European team selection, even though progress in the Champions League is already assured.
Before tonight’s trip to Seville, Lampard confirmed that he would give opportunities to some marginal players, with Callum Hudson-Odoi starting and Billy Gilmour on the team for the first time since he recovered from knee surgery.
But the Chelsea manager is determined to stay in shape as he prepares for a crucial period over Christmas, starting with Saturday’s game against Leeds.
He said: “We want to win the group for different reasons, obviously his path would be the beneficial position.
“Also in terms of motivation, those players who have not played so many minutes, their motivation is to try to show why they should be in the starting eleven.
“I have different options and it is an opportunity for players to give me more difficult options in the future.
“And as a group, we are on a good streak, we have not lost since Liverpool, which was a difficult game for us due to the circumstances that happened in the game.
“In soccer, my experience is that if you go well and decide that you want to turn the switch off and back on, it doesn’t work that way.
“So we have to be consistent in our approach.”
Frank Lampard is likely to give players like Billy Gilmour chances against Sevilla tonight
/ POOL / AFP via Getty Images )Lampard added: “Some players have been playing a lot, we have been talking about the hectic schedule. It’s hectic, but we can’t say that on the one hand and then not look at the rotation for this game.
“So we are not taking the game lightly, although we have qualified, we want to lead the group.
“I don’t expect a drop in level, but there will be an opportunity for some players to get a few minutes.”
Chelsea XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Emerson, Kovacic, Havertz, Jorginho, Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Pulisic
Subs: Kepa, Caballero, Alonso, Kante, Abraham, Werner, Tomori, Mount, Chilwell, Ziyech, Gilmour, James
