On Thursday (Nov. 28) Chelsea will take on Bundesliga side Heidenheim in their fourth Europa Conference League match. So far the Blues have rolled with relative ease through this competition, winning their first three games (excluding the playoffs) and outscoring their opponents 13-3.
Today, the traveling squad of the 21 players who are available tomorrow was released on the Chelsea website. The common thread is that many players who play a lot of minutes in the Premier League are unavailable: guys like Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Nicolas Jackson, Reece James, Pedro Neto, Romeo Lavia, and others. One of the more disappointing omissions is left-back Ben Chilwell, a veteran player Maresca does not favor.
The former England international has played in just one game this season on September 24 against Barrow in the Carabao Cup for 45 minutes. He was on the bench for their loss against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on October 30, but it’s been much to do about nothing for Chilwell. If there were ever a game in which Chilwell could be used it would be against the team that is 15th in the Bundesliga.
Of the players available against FC Heidenheim 1846, there are some guys that Maresca must play. Christopher Nkunku should be a shoo-in for the starting 11, Nkunku currently leads the team with ten goals across all competitions but only one of those goals has been in the EPL. The Frenchman has been limited to the bench in those games as the former Leicester City manager has preferred Jackson.
There have been rumors that Nkunku is unhappy and might want a transfer if he doesn’t get more game time. However Maresca, recently shut down those rumors saying “I spoke to Christo days ago and he did not say he was unhappy. He would like to play minutes but (that is) like many players.” Tomorrow is another opportunity for the former RB Leipzig striker to showcase why he deserves more minutes in the EPL.
Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another player who should start in this game. Since coming over from Leicester City for £30m, he has played in four EPL matches for a combined 45 minutes. However, in the Conference League and other competitions, he has played much more and has looked solid, but he could be better. Games like these are also a good way to build up his confidence and based on the midfielders that have been brought for this trip he might be the best one.
In the attacking phase of the field Jadon Sancho who has been out of the lineup for almost all of November, has an unspecified injury. Having been out of the lineup a good performance against a lower-level team could do wonders for Sancho’s confidence. Youngster Marc Guiu whose game time has been very limited to domestic and European competitions could use some time off the bench, especially if the Blues jump out to a big lead.
Whatever starting 11 Maresca decides to deploy, Chelsea’s most important goal tomorrow is to get another win in a competition they should continue dominating. Hopefully, some fringe players can improve their form with a possible golden opportunity.