Diego Costa to start for Chelsea against Sporting Lisbon

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Diego Costa will start in attack against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The striker has been battling a hamstring problem since arriving at the club in the summer, and there were suggestions that he could sit out the game in Portugal in order to rest ahead of Sunday's Premier League meeting with Arsenal.

However, Mourinho has decided against leaving Costa out as he takes a squad to Lisbon without Didier Drogba, who will miss the game due to an ankle injury.

"Diego starts," the Chelsea boss told reporters. "There is a risk, yes, but he plays.

"We assume the risk and he plays. Hopefully everything goes well, and hopefully from Tuesday till Sunday he has enough period of time to be back again on track and to play against Arsenal."

Chelsea started their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Schalke earlier this month.