Carlo Ancelotti's inspired by his theatre of dreams

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Seven years ago Ancelotti's AC Milan side drew 0-0 with Juventus in the Champions League Final before beating their rivals 3-2 on penalties.

It means the Chelsea coach is going back to the Theatre of Dreams' with excitement, not fear, and is confident his new side can add another memorable victory to his impressive CV.

Chelsea trail their rivals by just one point in the title race and know a win will put them on course for their first championship since 2006.

Ancelotti said: "It is difficult to win at Old Trafford but it's a fantastic stadium for me also, not only Sir Alex [Ferguson]. I won the Champions League Final in 2003 and it gave me the best memory in my career. I will always love that stadium.

"For sure we're not going for a draw, we want to go there for a win. We have won two games against them this season but this will be a different game. This one is more important than those. We're playing for the title so psychologically it's different."

Chelsea have had a whole week to prepare for the match, while Manchester United suffered a painful 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which saw Wayne Rooney pick up an ankle injury and has ruled him out for up to four weeks.

Their other title rivals Arsenal have also been hit by an injury crisis with Cesc Fabregas, Andrey Arshavin, Gael Clicy and William Gallas sustaining various problems in their Champions League match against Barcelona.

But Ancelotti has no sympathy for either team and feels Chelsea's situation is just as bad. He added: "I want to remind you that we have Michael Essien, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa, Branislav Ivanovic and Ricardo Carvalho out. I'm not sure if we can take advantage about this [Arsenal and Manchester United's injuries].

"Are we the favourites because of it? I don't think so. Every team have a lot of injuries at the moment.

"I would like Manchester United to have Rooney against us and Fabregas to play if I can have my injured players ready — it's the same."