Antonio Conte will be resting the majority of his first XI for Chelsea's Carabao Cup clash

The Premier League champions have had to deal with a series of injuries to key players in recent weeks.

So Conte is set field a highly inexperienced side when the Blues host Everton in the fourth round on Wednesday.

Charly Musonda and Kenedy are in line to start again against the Toffees having performed well in the last round against Nottingham Forest.

The former Juventus manager admits that he agrees with his fellow coaches that the competition can hinder progress in others.

"Now, if I have to see in a selfish way, I can tell you I agree [that the Carabao Cup isn't important],” said Conte.

"But, we have to try and find the best solution and I try to protect the teams who are playing in Europe. It is not simple.

"On the other hand, this type of game is important as it gives you the chance to see the improvement of the players who have not been playing.

“I don’t know. It is very difficult to say something about this."

After coming in for recent criticism for not giving younger players game time, the Blue boss says he is looking forward to seeing some of his squad talent in action.

"I think this could be a good opportunity to give a chance to the young player like Charly Musonda, also Kenedy, young players who I think deserve the chance,” he added.

"They are working very hard, they are improving and we can see the improvement against Everton which is a tough game.

“It is important for me, important for the club. We will do this.

"I think for the game against Everton, it is impossible to recover for [Danny] Drinkwater. [Victor] Moses needs more time and so does [N'Golo] Kante.”