Ivory Coast strikers Didier Drogba, with 19 goals this season, and Salomon Kalou have already left for the African Nations Cup along with Nigerian midfielder John Mikel Obi and Ghana'sMichael Essien.

Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti insists he will not spend in the January transfer market - preferring to place his trust in a host of second-string youngsters.

But the experienced Germany captain feels it would be unfair to heap the pressure on players like Gael Kakuta, Nemanja Matic, Fabio Borini, Jeffrey Bruma and Daniel Sturridge.

"The pressure shouldn't be on these players because they are young," said Ballack. "There shouldn't be so much focus on them, they should have time to grow over time.

"We'll see what the manager thinks about the situation but I hope there is not too much pressure on the young boys.

"It would not be fair to say they have to fill this gap, it is a big challenge and there are a lot of other players that can do it.

"But, for the young guys it is a chance with no pressure to have a few more games than before and make a name and help the team."

A run of just one win in seven ended with victory over Fulham on Monday and now Ballack believes Chelsea can continue to lead the table in January.

"We have a strong squad, we have always shown this," added the German. "During the season so far we have had a few injuries but we can still compete and I hope we can deal with the situation.

"Everyone wants to beat us now as we have seen in the last months when we played against even the teams fighting at the bottom, and that's what we will expect in the next weeks.

"We are on top of the league and it is different to play like this from the front, everyone wants to catch us.

"We have to be strong and stay together, especially in January and try to replace the players that have left for the African Nations Cup. We have to cover this period and try still to be in first position when the African players return."