Chelsea face Southampton in midweek during a Premier League fixture, and plenty of the fanbase are asking Enzo Maresca to make a big change to his starting line-up.
Chelsea go into Wednesday night’s away trip versus Southampton off the back of three consecutive wins across all competitions. In terms of the Premier League, the Blues sit third in the division standings, only behind second-placed Arsenal due to alphabetical order.
Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea manager, has kept a fairly consistent XI for the league schedule so far. It’s in the cup competitions where he’s made wholesale changes? So, what will he do for tomorrow’s top-flight clash against the Saints?
Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea runs for the ball during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa FC at Stamford Bridge on December 0...
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea fans desperate to rest Nicolas Jackson
A selection of Chelsea supporters want to see Nicolas Jackson left out of their starting line-up against Southampton.
Jackson has the best conversion rate in the Premier League this season, scoring eight goals in 13 appearances. However, the 23-year-old Blues striker is only one booking away from a suspension.
He’s already chalked up four yellow cards this campaign, which means a booking at St Mary’s will rule him out of Sunday’s league trip to rivals Tottenham.
There’s many Chelsea fans on X urging Maresca to bench Jackson and save him for Spurs. In fairness, they’ve got a superb understudy in Christopher Nkunku waiting in the wings.
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@bayour20 said: “If we have 3 games left for accumulated yellow cards. Maybe we should start Nkunku against Southampton because Jackson cannot miss our game against Spurs and Brentford. I don’t see him surviving 3 games without a yellow card.
@cptbhern posted: “Hate to say it, but may need Nkunku over Jackson to make sure he’s available for Spurs – I don’t trust him enough to avoid a yellow. Maybe give Caicedo a rest too tbh, give Mudryk a start.”
@slimfrik wrote: “Start Nkunku vs Southampton on Wednesday. Jackson is one yellow card away from suspension and we can’t afford to have him suspended for the spurs game.”
@chelz960048 posted: “I’d give Nkunku a go from the start to hopefully avoid a yellow card ban for Jackson before the Tottenham game.”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery recently called Chelsea’s Jackson “fantastic”. In return the player scored in the Blues’ 3-0 home win over Villa a couple of days ago.
Nicolas Jackson at risk of suspension
It would be a huge blow if Chelsea’s Jackson is unavailable to face Spurs on the weekend, but many managers like to focus on one game at a time. In addition, there’s another member of the Blues squad who’s also one booking away from a suspension.
Chelsea player Premier League yellow cards this season
Marc Cucurella 6
Wesley Fofana 6
Nicolas Jackson 4
Pedro Neto 4
Jackson and Pedro Neto will be treading a fine line if they do play in midweek. The depth of the group means it should be incredibly tempting for Maresca to rotate because of one eye on the Spurs trip.
Ally McCoist says Chelsea frontman Jackson is rapidly improving as this season goes on, but Nkunku equally has 11 goals across all competitions this term to prove his qualities.
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