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Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says Wayne Rooney's absence may act as a spur for Manchester United in Saturday's game between the two title-chasing sides.
Rooney's ankle injury means he will miss the crunch Premier League clash at Old Trafford, which sees second-placed Chelsea take on leaders United."Sometimes a team can give more than 100% when a very important player is out," said Ancelotti.
"They have the experience and the players to support the loss of Rooney."
United announced on Thursday that the ligament damage suffered by Rooney in the team's Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat at Bayern Munich was "minor".
Experts believe such an injury should only sideline the striker for three to four weeks, which includes Saturday's match at Old Trafford.
The loss of the 24-year-old, who has scored 34 goals this season, is a major blow for United
"Everyone knows how important Rooney is for Manchester United. He is a fantastic player who is having a fantastic season," said Ancelotti.
Chelsea have scored 12 goals in their last two games - against Portsmouth and Aston Villa - and with 30-goal striker Didier Drogba fit again after missing two days of training because of a groin injury, Ancelotti is hoping the Blues can make the most of Rooney's absence and return back to the top of the table.
"We need to show our play and do it for 90 minutes and stay concentrated. Manchester United are a very dangerous team and have a lot of players who can create difficulties for us," said Ancelotti.
"But we want to keep control of the game and to do this in Old Trafford is not easy. But we will try.
"We will have a very good chance because our moment is good. We are fit and our confidence has improved after wins against Portsmouth and Aston Villa.
"Saturday is a very important game because we play a fantastic team who are top of the league now but I have always said the title will be decided at the end of the season.
"If we are able to win, it is better for us. A draw is not a bad result because there are a lot of games and everyone of them is very important."
Ancelotti also suggested that neither United's 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday - a competition Chelsea were eliminated from in the previous round by Inter Milan - nor next Wednesday's return leg in Manchester was likely to have any bearing on Saturday's match.
"I don't think that players of Manchester United will think about that defeat to Bayern," said Ancelotti.
"They have a lot of experience and will be able to look forward to the next game against us and then, after that, stay in focus for the return game against Bayern."
In Rooney's absence, the lone striker role at Old Trafford is likely to be filled to the Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov, who has netted 12 times for United this season.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson also has Italian striker Federico Macheda available after what has been an injury-plagued season so far for the 18-year-old.
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