Chelsea will be without midfielder Deco for the Barclays Premier Lague home clash with Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Deco misses out because his father is ill and defender Alex (thigh) and Salomon Kalou (thigh) are also sidelined.

However, both Alex and Kalou are expected to be fit for the home game with Portsmouth next week. Jose Bosingwa is out with a long-term knee injury.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti will recall Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka after resting them for the midweek Champions League game against APOEL.

Meanwhile, coach Carlo Ancelotti has given four key players permission to leave for the African Nations Cup at the end of the month.

It means Ivory Coast strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou plus Nigerian midfielder John Mikel Obi and Ghana’s Michael Essien will miss five club games in January, including their FA Cup third-round tie against Watford at Stamford Bridge.