Enzo Maresca had some big questions to deal with in his press conference today, mainly focused on Cole Palmer and other injury issues.
But there were bigger picture questions too, about how his team were developing tactically, and how they intended to approach the game tomorrow.
Maresca on his team’s two attacking improvements
Estevao in action against Wolves.
Estevao in action against Wolves. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
When asked about his team’s improvement in “progressive passing” against Wolves last time out, the coach admitted that it might not be so easy against a Burnley team who have shown a bit more grit this season than the Midlanders:
“Yeah, it will be a different game. We know that every game is different. Probably tomorrow we need to use different strategies, different weapons. No doubt that it’s going to be a tough game, especially after the international break at 12 in the morning. It’s always a tricky game and we need to pay attention.”
The early kick off excuses are coming in already…
Another tactical question was posed to him about “counter pressing,” attacking by winning the ball high up. That could be really handy tomorrow, if Burnley try to sit deep:
“Probably the time that we spent together [is what’s improved the counter pressing recently]. We said many times that with more time together we’re going to be better and better,” the coach explained.
“It’s something that we have in the way we want to recover the ball as soon as possible. Sometimes it’s possible, sometimes it’s not possible because the other team do different things. But for sure it’s something that we are getting better at and we can be even better.”
In other presser news…
Moises Caicedo is not likely to play tomorrow after Maresca admitted that the midfielder had only just come back from international duty last night.
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