Diego Costa to start in Champions League clash with PSG

Jose Mourinho fears the lingering impact of Diego Costa's three-match ban will continue to haunt Chelsea in the Champions League.

Costa returns against Paris St Germain in the Parc de Princes on Tuesday night and, rather than accepting he will be fresh and ready for action, Mourinho predicts his 17-goal top-scorer will be off the pace after three weeks out.

'A long rest is not good for him,' said the Chelsea manager. 'I don't think it's good for him or any player. A little rest is welcome for everyone; a big rest isn't good for the players. So we are not going to see the best Diego. I hope I'm wrong, but probably he will need this game to try and get it.' 

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Costa has been serving a ban imposed by the Football Association after retrospective video evidence was used to punish a stamp on Liverpool's Emre Can during the Capital One Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho was furious with the decision. Chelsea won twice and drew against Manchester City in three games without the Spain centre-forward, who was given a run-out last week in a training game involving the youth team.

'We organised a game three or four days ago with the kids for him to compete,' said Mourinho. 'We tried to replicate competition for him but it's different. But I know he has hunger to play, a big appetite to play in the Champions League.'

Mourinho has yet to tell Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois who will start the match with the Belgian sweating on his place after being dropped against Everton.

Cesc Fabregas, who has also missed the last three games but for the last 20 minutes against Everton last week, is over his hamstring injury but struggling with illness. John Obi Mikel who has a knee injury has not travelled.

Chelsea beat PSG in the quarter-finals of last season's competition, losing the first leg 3-1 in Paris before going on to secure qualification on away goals at Stamford Bridge thanks to a last-minute goal from Demba Ba. And Mourinho is more than aware of just how fine the margins were last time.

'We beat them but we lost in Paris and it was decided in the last minute,' he said. 'The details make the difference. I'm not saying we won because we were better than Paris. We won because we scored away and did not concede at home.

'Paris is a great team and basically the same as last season with David Luiz, same coach, same dynamic, same profile, with conditions to be better because when you have stability you can improve.

'Chelsea have different players. We change the profile of our game. I don't want to say we're better but Parc de Princes will see a different Chelsea to last season.'

Luiz played in both legs against PSG for Chelsea last season, before switching to the Park des Princes last summer. The Brazilian defender implied that Chelsea were the stronger team going into the tie, a suggestion dismissed out of hand by Mourinho.

'I'm not here to comment on words from opponents, even David (Luiz),' he insisted. 'I'm not going to comment.'