Chelsea’s team news for today’s game was pretty much as expected, with one exception.
Midfielder Enzo Fernandez, a stalwart for Enzo Maresca since he arrived at the club, has been dropped. Despite a rest in midweek, Maresca has gone a different direction with this team. Reece James is moved into midfield alongside the returning Moises Caicedo to give a strong double pivot.
But instead of Enzo ahead of them it’s Cole Palmer. He plays in the hole, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho out wide.
Maresca sacrifices key midfielder for Chelsea solidity
Enzo Maresca on the touchline against Leeds.
Enzo Maresca on the touchline against Leeds.. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
It’s an interesting move, and one that shows that even the coach has seen Fernandez struggling in recent weeks. The sheer number of minutes he’s played has really taken it’s toll. Still, he should get plenty of action today – Cole Palmer will probably only play an hour as he works his way back from injury, and Enzo is the natural replacement. After today, the team have a full week off to rest.
Hopefully playing 30 minutes in a two week spell is enough to allow Enzo to recover some freshness. Still, it’s an interesting call from Maresca, who is still working out his favoured setups for the big games. The idea of James, Caicedo and Enzo all together is nice – but that then means moving Cole Palmer out wide and dropping a winger.
Given Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto are playing well, we can see why the manager doesn’t want to do that.
In other news…
The rest of Chelsea’s team news for the game is available here, and you can see what shape Maresca did go for in the end.
Chris Sutton has predicted us to lose this game today – and that’s not surprising given our record at St James’ Park.
More Stories about Enzo Fernandez
Enzo Fernandez labours in midfield.
Enzo Fernandez celebrates Chelsea win.
Enzo Maresca celebrates at full time.