Xabi ruled out of Chelsea game

Rafa has stated that Xabi will be rested on Tuesday. The Spanish midfield master has just come back from injury and Rafa does not want to take any chances with a busy schedule of games to come before the end of the year:

Benitez said: "Alonso won't be in the squad for the Chelsea game. He told me he wants to play but I said no, you must rest. All players want to play. "If it was a game that we needed to win to qualify then maybe he would have played but we have already qualified."

Although qualification is secure it's important to keep our good run going. It will also be a psychological boost to get a decent result at Stamford Bridge and topping the group would be nice. I'm not expecting Rafa to make too many changes on Tuesday.

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