Chelsea are preparing to take on Southampton in a few hours, and the big debate among fans is over what level of changes should be made to the regular team which is doing so well at the moment.
Enzo Maresca referred to this as his team’s “worst game of the season” because of how easily they could become complacent and let points slip away. And we expect him to back up his words with a strong team selection.
But he will of course want to rest and rotate where he can, and that means taking some risks. We don’t expect a B team lineup as though it’s a cup game, but the coach knows this is a great chance to keep players fresh for a huge game against Tottenham at the weekend.
Dare he gamble on resting stars after such a harsh warning to his players to not get complacent?
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Mykhailo Mudryk congratulated by Enzo Maresca. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Chelsea’s most likely stars to be given a break
In defence, regulars like Marc Cucurella, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Cowill and Malo Gusto should all be able to play given it’s a less explosively demanding position. Colwill aside, they’ve all been in and out of the team all year anyway.
In midfield things get more tricky. Moises Caicedo is most in need of a rest, but is also the most irreplaceable player in terms of what he offers.
Maresca would dearly love to give Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson a rest, and he of course has great players to come in for them in the form of Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku. Neither of them offer quite the same as Palmer or Jackson but the need to keep them fresh might just convince Maresca to risk it.
We’re super curious to see what Enzo goes for – it will tell us a lot about his philosophy for the rest of the season.