Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is a big admirer of the English Championship.

Chelsea meet Derby County in the Capital One Cup quarterfinals.

Mourinho said: "The Championship is a league where the top teams in the table have already four defeats, so it is a league where already they know there is a great balance and it is normal for them to lose matches. If they lose two matches they are out of the top six, if they win two matches they are in promotion positions - so I don't think they are affected by that.

"The Championship is a very competitive league. It is amazing - 24 teams, play-offs, lots of matches including midweek, very strong physical sides and it must be a very hard league for sure.

"Obviously Derby will try to get into the Capital One Cup semi-finals which would be a great achievement for them but also for us, and we are going to try."