Enzo Maresca has made some big selection calls as Chelsea prepare to face rivals Tottenham in a crunch Premier League clash today.
Maresca made a surprising seven changes for Wednesday’s trip to Southampton but watched his much-changed team emerge with a comfortable 5-1 victory.
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That included a first Premier League start for goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who has impressed in the Conference League, but Maresca confirmed immediately that Robert Sanchez remains his first-choice and does start against Spurs.
Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia all return to the side, but the big win at St Mary’s has given Maresca a nice headache, and he’s opted to reward Jadon Sancho after he scored his first goal for the Blues last time out.
The Blues remain without defenders Reece James and Wesley Fofana because of hamstring problems, while Mykhailo Mudryk is still struggling with illness.
But otherwise Maresca’s squad have come through the midweek win over Southampton in good shape.
“[James and Fofana] are slowly getting better but as we said, it’s a matter of weeks,” said Maresca. “They are still far. The only one that is still ill is Mudryk. The rest are okay.”
Confirmed team news
Tottenham XI: Forster, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Johnson, Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Solanke, Son
Subs: Austin, Reguilon, Dragusin, Spence, Maddison, Gray, Bergvall, Werner, Lankshear
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Caicedo, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Time and date: 4.30pm GMT on Sunday 8 December 2024
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium