Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways in the Premier League and get the top-flight campaign back on track when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. Enzo Maresca has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Robert Sanchez is available after serving his suspension in the EFL Cup clash with Lincoln City earlier this week. However, Maresca has lost Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) and Wesley Fofana (concussion), while Cole Palmer is sidelined for a few weeks due to the recurrence of a groin injury.
The trio accompanies Benoit Badiashile (unspecified), Levi Colwill (knee), Romeo Lavia (muscular), Dario Essugo (thigh), Liam Delap (hamstring), and Marc Guiu (thigh) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after failing a doping test several months ago. Additionally, Facundo Buonanotte is ineligible to take on his parent club.
Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided a fitness update on Palmer. The Chelsea manager said, “We have decided to protect Cole a little bit, in terms of his injury not getting worse. So we decided to rest him for the next two or three weeks, probably until after the international break, to see whether, with rest, he can recover 100 per cent and be completely fit.”
“It’s a matter of managing the pain in his groin. With the amount of games [we have played], it’s something that can happen, so that is the reason why we are trying to be conservative with him to give him rest. Hopefully, he can be 100 per cent fit after the international break.”
Maresca also provided fitness updates on other players. The Chelsea boss said, “We have Tosin injured. He will probably be out until the international break as he has a small problem with his calf. Wes Fofana suffered a concussion the other day against Lincoln [and will miss the Brighton game]. Romeo and Benoit are better, we will see if they can join us tomorrow. Otherwise, it will be for the next game.”
Robert Sanchez will replace Filip Jorgensen between the sticks after the Danish international struggled against Lincoln City. The home side will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the Spanish stopper against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, with Reece James, Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella forming the backline.
As for the midfield unit, Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos will pair up in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto will be the two wide attackers, with Joao Pedro leading the line for the hosts against Brighton on Saturday. So, Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens will be backup options on the bench.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Estevao, Enzo Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro
