Chelsea must be feeling low after that defeat at Goodison Park, but I can see the only way to respond is to forget about the past and carry on with the good work they have been doing all season.
 
Cardiff on the other hand harbour ambition regarding this cup as well as Championship promotion race. They are currently 4th at the table, so –at least- will make the play-offs.
 
The Welsh side also has this extra little advantage of being “stable” on the road. Their home form is 7-3-4 and their away form is 7-3-5 in the Championship, which is almost identical. This means they can be tough enough on the road.
 
However, up against the EPL leaders I don’t think this can be the case. Cardiff may have had the upper hand in the H2H vs Chelsea in their most recent meetings, but the last of these so-called “most recent” H2H games was held in 1986. Their last league game vs each other was back in 1961, which was probably before most readers of this preview were even born.
 
Ancelotti’s going to ring some changes, but not a wholesale rotation. Hilario will be the man under the bar, with Ferreira, Alex, Carvalho and Zhirkov for his defense. In the midfield it’s Lampard, Obi-Mikel and Ballack, and upfront we have Drogba supported by J. Cole and D. Sturridge.
 
Cardiff have a long list of injuries. According to BBC both Chopra and Gyepes will be forced to play through illness to complete the lines, it’s probably safe to take the Chelsea win for granted, and by more than one goal. Of course, Drogba will have a say in the game.
 
Picks:
 
Chelsea -2 A.H. @ 1.83 w/ Stan James
Drogba score anytime @ 1.73 w/ BlueSQ or Stan James