Enzo Maresca could be without three players when Chelsea lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites will host the Blues on Sunday afternoon as they both look to climb the Premier League table.
Chelsea enjoyed a 5-1 win over Southampton at St. Mary's on Wednesday night, climbing above Arsenal into second place in the title race. Then, on Thursday night, Spurs dropped to 10th following a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
After Brentford stormed past Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon, Ange Postecoglou's side fell into the bottom half of the table. While Chelsea will be eager to pile on the misery in north London and narrow Liverpool's eight-point lead, they will be without a few big names.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the highly anticipated clash, Maresca confirmed that it'll be a 'matter of weeks' before Reece James and Wesley Fofana return to action after suffering muscle injuries. The Blues boss also claimed that Mykhailo Mudryk is ill.
"They are both slowly getting better, but as we said the other day, it is a matter of weeks," said Maresca. "The other one that is still ill is Misha Mudryk and the rest are okay."
The west Londoners made seven changes against Southampton, with the likes of Levi Colwill and Nicolas Jackson rested for the Tottenham bout. On the luxury of such a strong squad, Maresca said: "Since we started, we've tried to share minutes and change players. We did exactly the same thing against Southampton.
"For sure, when you change seven in the Premier League, it can be a big number. They all deserved minutes. No matter how many players we change, you can see the identity of the team and the team doing the right things. This is the best thing."
When quizzed on how hard it has been to keep players happy, he replied: "I like to have relation with the players, to be quite close. You can also see a little bit in the past I was with Leicester, I had a fantastic relation with the players. I loved them.
"This is the way I like to have a relation with players. When you say something you don't like, they think you don't want to be close but it is a way to be closer, to show them that I take care of them."
While Chelsea will certainly miss James, Fofana and, potentially, Mudryk, those coming into the starting lineup will be eager to impress.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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