Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been cleared by the Chelsea hierarchy to field a weakened side in this weekend's title showdown with Liverpool at Anfield, report the Mail.

The Portuguese boss believes that his side are now out of the title race and Mourinho is looking to rest players on Sunday ahead of next Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. However, he also indicated that he would need to seek the approval of club officials above him to effectively surrender the title to the Reds.

Speaking after the first leg in Madrid on Tuesday, Mourinho said; "I would play the players that are not going to play next Wednesday. I can't decide by myself. I'm just the manager. I have to listen to the club."

It appears that Mourinho asked for permission on Wednesday, and Chelsea’s football board consisting of Dave Barnard, Bruce Buck, Ron Gourlay, Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum gave Mourinho the go ahead to rest the remaining fit players ahead of next Wednesday's match.

With John Terry and Petr Cech already out until the end of the season, Mourinho is looking to rest a number of his key first team players at Anfield to give his side the best chance of making the Champions League final.

This could mean starts for youngsters Tomas Kalas, Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen, who will likely now have to deal with the league's top scorer in Luis Suarez.