Conte prepares to gamble by resting key duo

Morata and Hazard to sit out tie against Qarabag Chelsea manager rotates ahead of Arsenal clash

Antonio Conte is preparing to take a Champions League gamble and rest both Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard as he seeks finally to stamp his managerial mark on the competition. Chelsea return to the Champions League with an opening Group C game against Azerbaijani side Qarabag at Stamford Bridge tonight, ahead of much tougher tests against Atletico Madrid and Roma.

After winning the Champions League once and reaching four finals as a player, Conte has never made it past the quarter-final stage as a coach. But neither his personal record nor the need for a fast start in Europe stopped the Chelsea manager making a number of changes for the visit of Qarabag, with Sunday’s Premier League match against Arsenal in mind.

Michy Batshuayi is expected to start ahead of Morata, who scored his third Premier League goal against Leicester City, while Conte revealed Hazard would again be a substitute and Davide Zappacosta is in line to make his first Stamford Bridge appearance. Captain Gary Cahill is set to return from a ban and defender Andreas Christensen could get a rare chance.

“Eden is in the squad and is working very well towards the best physical condition, but he needs a bit more time to continue to improve and [we need] to not take stupid risks with him. Now he’s available and will be on the bench,” Conte said. “Alvaro’s playing very well, scoring and he is totally involved in our style of football, and improving a lot. But don’t forget he played the whole game with Spain and at Leicester. I have to check and then make the best decision. It is normal when you play seven games in 21 days that it is necessary to rotate.

“The English teams have difficulties because the league is very tough here. In the past, before the Champions League, I rested players. But in England it is very difficult to do this. You risk a lot. But we are ready and for this reason we must rotate all the squad.

“You play a medium team [in England] and you can lose. You know there are six or seven teams fighting for the title. You are never relaxed in England. You have to play a tough league and then two cups. We are starting to play the Champions League. To play 60-65 games at a high level is not easy.”

Asked if he would be taking a big risk by leaving out the likes of Mor- ata and Hazard, Conte said: “I think when you make the decision there is always a risk. The risk could be to play with the same players I did against Leicester and then it would be, ‘Why didn’t you change the team?’ This is our job.

“We must use our eyes and our previous experience as player and coach. If you win, it was the best decision and if you lose it was the worst decision. I must be realistic and try to make the best decision for these seven games in 21 days. To play every three days is not easy.”

Conte only has two experiences of the Champions League as a manager with Juventus. In his first campaign, 2012-13, Juve were eliminated 4-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. The following season Conte’s team failed to get out of the group stages.

Since his departure, Juve have reached two Champions League finals in three seasons and Conte said: “I played two Champions Leagues with Juventus, but it wasn’t this Juventus. We were at the start of our path, don’t forget.

“We lost in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich and Bayern Munich won the tournament. Then we reached the semi-final of the Europa League against Benfica. I have more experience as a player. I played for a lot of years in this tournament and played in four finals. I won only one. It’s a great competition and we must be pleased to be back and proud to play in the competition.

“I don’t know if there is a chance this season. But the chance to win the title last season was zero and we changed the opinion of the people. We are building something important in the present and for the future. you need time to do this.

“We must understand we are starting a path. I hope this path is short and not too long to try to be competitive in a short time and not to wait three, four or five years.”