The Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand is braced to be the target of abuse from Chelsea supporters in Sunday's west London derby despite Roberto Di Matteo, the European Cup finalists' interim first-team coach, urging the home fans to "behave in the right manner" given the particular sensitivities surrounding the fixture.

The match will be Ferdinand's first at Stamford Bridge since accusations surfaced that he had been racially abused by John Terry in this season's first meeting between the sides back in October. Terry is due in Westminster magistrates' court on 9 July to answer those allegations and denies the charges, but the trial has already prompted the Premier League to abandon the customary pre-match handshake between the teams after Ferdinand's lawyers expressed concern that the gesture might prejudice proceedings.

Chelsea have already been forced to issue one apology this season after travelling supporters sang "Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are" during the Champions League tie at Genk in November a little over a week after their 1-0 defeat at Loftus Road, chants the club described as "wholly inappropriate" at the time.

Rio Ferdinand, Anton's older brother, was also booed when Manchester United visited Stamford Bridge in February with the QPR centre-half anticipating a hostile reception on Sunday.

Anton Ferdinand told the Evening Standard: "There is a big rivalry between the two clubs anyway but, with everything that has happened, I know there will be some fans targeting me. The Chelsea fans believe what they want to believe. They have their own view on what's gone on and if they are going to give me stick, that's their problem. All I can say is that it won't upset my game. If they think that's what's going to happen, then they have got another thing coming."

There was an appeal for calm of sorts from Di Matteo on Friday ahead of a potentially volatile fixture. "Our supporters are very responsible, so I don't think we'll have any issues," said the Italian. "I hope they will behave in the right manner, as they always do. And we can have a good game of football."

That rather ignored the chants of "murderers" from a vocal minority of Chelsea fans which interrupted the moment's silence to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster ahead of this month's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham at Wembley. That abuse prompted the tribute to be abandoned after 25 seconds and subsequently required an apology from the club.

Terry is the only recognised centre-half fit and available for Chelsea on Sunday and the management team are confident he will be focused for the immediate task in hand despite the issue of the court case and the disappointment of his sending-off at Barcelona in midweek. That red card will rule him out of next month's Champions League final in Munich, though the 31-year-old will travel with the team to Germany, according to Di Matteo, "as part of the expedition" and could lift the trophy post-match if the side are victorious.

There are no qualms over his state of mind for the meeting with QPR. "He will be in the right frame of mind to play," said Di Matteo. "I always talk to my players and I will make sure they focus on the task they have in the game rather than everything that surrounds the game. But I have absolutely no concern with our captain.

"All our fans will support the team, he's part of the team and I have no concerns. He's fine. We've all had a couple of tough weeks, but they've been very successful ones. We are in good spirits and he'll be ready for the game on Sunday, like the rest of us."

Chelsea have accepted the Premier League's decision to abandon the pre-match handshake with Di Matteo's opposite number at QPR, Mark Hughes, also welcoming that move. "It takes all the buildup before the game out of the equation," he said. "That is what we were conscious of before the FA Cup game [in January, when the FA cancelled the handshake]. The game itself was a little bit of a damp squib because of all the discussions and debate about who is going to shake who else's hand.

"We knew that Anton had been told that he wouldn't be allowed to shake hands so we understood that part of it and, obviously, discussions between ourselves, Chelsea and the Premier League were on-going, but I think they have come up with the right decision."