The sides meet on Wednesday night and the following Tuesday in a rematch of the finale in Moscow three years ago, which saw the Blues suffer arguably the most agonising result in their history.

Having come from behind to draw in normal time, Chelsea were within one penalty kick of ending their long quest for Champions League glory when John Terry missed from the spot in the most dramatic of shoot-outs.

Edwin van der Sar then saved from Nicolas Anelka to ensure Roman Abramovich's obsession with winning the competition would remain unfulfilled for another year.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was still in charge of AC Milan at the time, has played down Chelsea's desire to avenge that loss.

But it is hard to imagine the Blues taking greater satisfaction from knocking out any other team than Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

Their hopes of doing so have been boosted by what appears a distinct advantage over their perennial Barclays Premier League title rivals when it comes to selection issues for the two-legged clash.

Having been ravaged by injuries at the end of 2010, Chelsea are on the brink of being able to choose from a full squad at the business end of the season.

The same cannot be said for United, who have been beset by fitness issues at just the wrong time.

The only players Ancelotti may be unable to call upon on Wednesday - apart from the cup-tied David Luiz - are Alex and Yossi Benayoun, who have only just returned from long-term injury and could yet feature in the second leg at Old Trafford.

Ancelotti said: "We don't have a problem.

"(We are) fit, happy. I think it's a good time for us, for this reason."

Benayoun made his first competitive appearance since September this week when he came off the substitutes' bench during Israel'sEuro 2012 qualifier against Georgia.

Ancelotti said: "Benayoun played 20 minutes and is feeling good. He's been out for six months, so he needs to train properly to improve his condition. In 10 days, he will be ready to play.

"Alex is the same. He doesn't have a problem with his knee, but he has to train gradually to improve his condition."

Asked if either could be involved against United, Ancelotti added: "Maybe, maybe.

"I don't know about the home game, but in the away game, they might be ready."

Having added Fernando Torres and Luiz for a combined £75million in January, Ancelotti boasts a squad that would be the envy of almost any club in the world, including United.

But the Italian was coy over whether it was the best he had ever managed.

"I'm happy to have these players," he said.

"There's a lot of ability, technical ability, personality, character.

"I think that I don't want to speak so well about my team because, if we lose, the manager is not doing a good job.

"And if we win, the players are the best!"

With eight or nine games to play in April, as Chelsea attempt to continue their remarkable resurgence in the Premier League title race as well as their run in the Champions League, expect Ancelotti to make changes on Wednesday from today's game at Stoke.

"That's the key to maintain the players' fitness and motivation," he said.

"It would be wrong to use just 11 players and see the others not involved.

"We have eight or nine games in April, and to do well in those we need to use more than 11 players.

"Obviously, now we come into a busy moment but we're ready to play games every three days. All the players are fit. All the players have good motivation. I think we are ready."