Mourinho rests Cahill for Derby tie

Gary Cahill has been taken out of the line of fire by Jose Mourinho, who will rest the defender who was accused of diving for tonight’s Capital One Cup quarter-final at Derby (kick-off 7:45pm on Sky Sports 1).

Hull boss Steve Bruce accused Cahill of simulation following Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Bruce felt Cahill should have been shown a second yellow card.

The England centre-back will be replaced by Kurt Zouma, even though Blues manager Mourinho has vowed to field “the best possible team”.

“We’re going to play against a top team in the Championship,” Mourinho said.

“The difference between a top team in the Championship and the teams of the Premier League are very, very small. We played there last year (a 2-0 win in the FA Cup) and it was not an easy game.

“We have no reason to rest people. The only one that is not going because he played against Sporting (Lisbon) — I never gave him a break — is Cahill.

“Cahill doesn’t play, I play Zouma.”

Prior to the Hull contest, Mourinho insisted none of his players would be ever-presents over the congested Christmas schedule.

The Derby match is Chelsea’s fourth fixture of December and they now play six games in 19 days until their FA Cup third-round tie with Watford on January 4.

“I don’t think one player is going to play these six matches,” Mourinho said. “Every one of them has to go to five, the ones that play more they have to go to five; one (game) rest I think I have to give them.

“We did that against Sporting, we gave a rest to some players and we’re going to do this from now until the end of the month.”

Mourinho will afford his players rest following the Derby match, with Chelsea’s next game the Premier League contest at Stoke next Monday.

“We have two days off, which is the two days after Derby, which allows the players to go home,” Mourinho added.

For his part, Derby boss Steve McClaren views Chelsea as a side without flaws.

He said: “At the moment they are the strongest. I can’t see a weakness. We have to be at our very best, very, very best to come even close.”

In tonight’s other Capital One Cup quarter-final tie, Southampton bid to end a run of four successive defeats when they travel to Sheffield United.