With their big, richly-talented squad and nine-point advantage over Manchester United to comfort them, Chelsea should theoretically not be overly concerned at having lost Robben for up to two months as a result of two broken bones in his foot.

"We will miss Arjen," Lampard acknowledged.

"He's got great pace and he's given us so much since he came into the team. But by the same token people have made a massive thing of him being out -- and we are far from being a one-man team.

"Before Arjen did come into the team we were pretty much top of the league. He's a great player and hopefully he will be fit sooner rather than later.

"But Chelsea have to get on with things without him for the time being. We can't rely on one man and we don't do that."

A closer look at the statistical impact of Robben's presence in the Blues' line-up however suggests that Lampard's view of the situation may be a little rosy.

Having managed just eight goals in their first nine matches this season, when Robben was unable to play due to an earlier injury, Chelsea have since been hitting the net at an average of just over 2.5 per game.

However strongly Lampard insists that Chelsea are not a one-man team, it is hard to argue with a near three-fold increase in the team's goals-per-game ratio.

The absence of Robben's incisive running and creative vision was painfully apparent as Chelsea were held to a goalless draw at home to Manchester City on Sunday, a result which allowed United to edge a little bit closer to them.

The cushion remains significant but the pressure from United could start to have an impact on everyone at Stamford Bridge if Chelsea fail to win their lunchtime encounter with fourth-placed Everton on Saturday and their rivals emerge with the points from their derby clash at Manchester City a day later.

Everton will take heart from the way they frustrated Chelsea when the two sides last met, at Stamford Bridge in November.

It will not have been lost on Jose Mourinho that that match was ultimately settled in his side's favour by a 72nd-minute winner from Robben.

Chelsea are not alone however in having suffered a significant loss in terms of personnel since that match. Everton were forced to sell midfielder Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid during the transfer window and manager David Moyes admits his side are still struggling to adapt to life without the Dane.

"We are still seeking the right blend since we lost Thomas," he said. "That is what we are looking for at the moment -- we have not been at our best but all teams change and we have to adapt."

Like Chelsea, Everton are currently looking over their shoulders with Merseyside neighbours Liverpool having closed the gap on them in the battle for fourth place and England's final qualifying spot for the Champions League.

Liverpool travel to Birmingham with Czech striker Milan Baros confident that he can forge a deadly partnership with Reds new boy Fernando Morientes.

Both forwards hit the net in last weekend's win over Fulham at Anfield and Baros feels the pair are a perfect match.

"It's great for both Fernando and I to have scored on Saturday," Baros said.

"You can see already he's a great player and he's very good in the air. That's made an advantage for me as I try to get around central defenders.

"He makes a lot of space for me, which is great. He's a big signing for Liverpool. We can have the kind of partnership where we both help each other.

"He's getting better with every game. It's only our fourth game and we still have a lot to learn from each other, but hopefully there is a lot more to come."