Turnbull to face Inter?

Young Chelsea keeper Ross Turnbull looks destined to keep goal against Inter Milan this week.

The 25-year-old made his league debut for the Blues against Chelsea at the weekend and also appeared in the 4-0 Carling Cup win over Bolton and Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with APOEL in this season’s Champions League group stage.

The injuries to first-choice stopper Petr Cech and back-up Hilario mean Turnbull, who joined on a free transfer from Middlesbrough last summer, also looks set to face Jose Mourinho’s men. It will undoubtedly be the biggest night of Turnbull’s career.

However, despite Turnbull’s obvious lack of big-match experience boss Carlo Ancelotti is sure Turnbull will not let the Londoners down.

“I’m not worried. The performance of the team does not rely upon the goalkeeper. I don’t want to say we can play without a goalkeeper, because that’s an important player for the team, but I have confidence in Turnbull,” Ancelotti said.

“He has not played a lot of games this season but, with the work with our goalkeeping coach, he has improved very well.”

Czech international keeper Cech has a calf strain and is unlikely to make the Champions League last-16 second leg against Inter, while Hilario has a groin problem and he is also set for a few weeks on the sidelines.

It all points to a Turnbull appearance against Inter, while 19-year-old Rhys Taylor could be on the bench at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, the debate over who should wear the number one shirt for England during this year’s World Cup continues.

Robert Green appears to be the man in possession but there have been calls for Joe Hart to get the nod.

England’s World Cup 2010 odds make them third favourites for the competition and they will need their ‘keeper to be in top form if they are to win the tournament.

In other sports news, this year’s Cheltenham Festival races get underway tomorrow and the highlight of the meeting will be the Gold Cup clash between Kauto Star and Denman.