In what may be viewed as a tacit admission that he made mistakes in his tactics and team selection for the Carling Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, Avram Grant is likely to make several changes for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League match against West Ham United.

The Chelsea first-team coach has experimented with several systems in training this week and is considering switching to a 4-1-3-2 formation, which would enable Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to play alongside each other as a true strike partnership for the first time.

Grant will not name his side until after the squad’s final training session today, but there are certain to be changes from the side who were beaten at Wembley last weekend. Michael Ballack is likely to be first beneficiary, with Grant conceding privately that he was wrong to overlook the in-form Germany midfield player against Tottenham, while Ashley Cole is hopeful of returning in place of Wayne Bridge at left back.

Ballack’s expected return will raise further questions over the position of Frank Lampard, who, for the first time since his £11 million move from West Ham seven years ago, is no longer guaranteed a place in the starting line-up. Grant said last week that the notion of having “untouchable” players, such as when Lampard played 164 consecutive league matches from 2001 to 2005, was long gone because he intends to rotate his side more in the future, but he is reluctant to deliver what would be a huge snub by leaving out the England midfield player against his former club. Lampard relishes playing against West Ham, particularly enjoying the hate-filled atmosphere at Upton Park.

Grant insists that Lampard and Ballack can play together — despite the evidence to the contrary provided by their one outing in tandem this season, the 0-0 draw against Liverpool — and has worked on devising a system to accommodate them.

The Israeli is coming round to the view that 4-1-3-2 is the best way of utilising the strength of his squad, particularly in the Champions League, with Claude Makelele or John Obi Mikel in the holding role behind Lampard, Ballack and Michael Essien. Although lacking width, it would also enable him to play Drogba and Anelka together, avoiding a repeat of their disappointing showing against Tottenham, when Anelka was isolated and anonymous out on the left.

Grant has still to decide whether to put his ideas into practice tomorrow, although John Terry is sure to retain his place at the back alongside Ricardo Carvalho, with his standing in the squad higher than ever after his spat with Henk ten Cate. The Times can reveal that the row was triggered by Ten Cate’s treatment of Mikel, with Terry objecting to what he perceived as the assistant first-team coach’s bullying manner as he repeatedly picked on the Nigeria midfield player during a training session last Saturday.

Terry intervened on behalf of his team-mate because of his belief that Mikel was being unfairly victimised, leading to a shouting match with Ten Cate that shocked several onlookers.

Chelsea’s players have sided with their captain, but Mikel said yesterday that they should forget about last weekend’s disappointment. “We just have to put what has happened behind us and make sure we move forward,” he said. “We had a talk among ourselves and we know we could have done better in the final. It was obviously disappointing, so we have to make sure we come back victorious.

“There is a lot of competition in the team now and you have to know you can’t play every game. Everyone in the team is a good player and you can’t keep them out for a long time. We have to go to Upton Park and make sure we play well and take the three points.”

Top of the pots

Four of the top ten earners in the world game play for Chelsea, according to France Football magazine’s annual estimates of player salaries. Kaká, of AC Milan, and Ronaldinho, of Barcelona — both Brazilians — head the list, followed by Frank Lampard and John Terry, of Chelsea, who are the highest-earning Englishmen. In addition to Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, the other Chelsea representatives, three more Barclays Premier League players are in the top ten — Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard. Ronaldo’s will improve once he has renegotiated his contract.

Top ten earners

Kaká (AC Milan) £6.6m
Ronaldinho (Barcelona) £6.31
F Lampard (Chelsea) £6.04
J Terry (Chelsea) £6.04
F Torres (Liverpool) £5.86
A Shevchenko (Chelsea) £5.77
M Ballack (Chelsea) £5.77
C Ronaldo (Man Utd) £5.69
T Henry (Barcelona) £5.69
S Gerrard (Liverpool) £5.69