Christopher Nkunku has dropped an early team news hint ahead of Chelsea's clash against Heidenheim. The German outfit will face the Blues at the Voith-Arena on Thursday night, with a place at the top of the Conference League up for grabs.
Chelsea enjoyed a 2-1 win over Leicester City at the weekend, meanwhile, Heidenheim suffered a 5-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. The hosts are six games without a win in the Bundesliga, so the West Londoners will be looking to pile on the misery.
As for Chelsea, they're unbeaten in four Premier League games, so they approach the European bout with a skip in their step. Nevertheless, Nkunku has posted a pre-match graphic preview of the Heidenheim fixture to his Instagram story.
Historically, this suggests that he'll will be involved in some capacity. Joao Felix, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile have uploaded training pictures, hinting that they too will be involved against the Bundesliga club.
Nkunku has been briefly linked with an exit from Chelsea ahead of the January transfer window, but Maresca rubbished such reporters in his pre-match press conference. The Blues boss said: "I spoke to Christo days ago and he did not say he was unhappy.
"For sure, he would like to play minutes but like many players. We have so many games, especially in December. Against Leicester, Joao [Felix] played, Enzo [Fernandez] played and Benoit played. Since we started, for me, there are not two squads - the squad is only one.
"They can play Conference League or the Premier League and the proof was against Leicester," added Maresca. On what makes Nkunku such an valuable asset, the Italian replied: "The problem with Christo, not the problem but it's the same issue and the same thing we mention many times about Joao.
"If you play with Cole, you play with Joao, or Christo, or Noni, or Jadon - who is defending? Their skills and strength is not defending; it's to attack. We love them but also we need the balance. Last game, we tried with Cole and Joao together.
"Soon, we can try with Christo and Cole, Christo and Joao, for sure. The reason why is because we have so many games. I completely want Christo to stay with us; I don't have any idea to let him leave in January."
With that being said, Maresca will be relying on Nkunku to step up and fire Chelsea to victory. While a few players have posted pre-match previews of the Heidenheim game to their Instagram stories, it does not necessarily mean they will definitely start or, at the very least, play.
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