Reece James and Cole Palmer will return in a much-changed Chelsea lineup against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome Newcastle United to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. And Enzo Maresca does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Omari Kellyman is the only absentee for the home side, with the summer signing still recovering from a hamstring injury. Otherwise, Maresca has a full-strength squad, with Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana available again after missing the game against Panathinaikos.
Maresca has omitted the trio from his UEFA Europa Conference League squad to manage their fitness. Meanwhile, the Italian tactician confirmed his group’s state and spoke about Reece James and Romeo Lavia during his pre-match press conference.
The Chelsea manager said, “They are all ok. They [James and Lavia] were very happy about the minutes they got and the performance. They finished very well, without injury, that is the most important thing. But at the same time, they were not happy because we lost the game.”
“As I’ve said, the reason they are not in the squad [in Greece], Romeo, Wes and even Reece, is at this moment they can’t play two games a week. So the idea is to use them once a week. I’ve spoken with Reece many, many times, he’s the one I speak most with since we started. Before the injury and now again.”
“Sometimes, and we talk about Reece because he is our player, clubs have some players who get injury after injury and so we need to find the right solution for him and to try to help him. Probably at this moment, the solution could be we use him once a week. We would like to use him every day because he’s a fantastic player but we need to adapt.”
James should return to the Chelsea starting lineup this weekend, joining Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, and Malo Gusto in the backline. Maresca could also deploy Marc Cucurella as the left-back, with the Spaniard available again after serving his suspension against Liverpool. Robert Sanchez will take his usual spot between the sticks despite his shoddy showing last weekend.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in the double pivot. Cole Palmer will reprise the no. 10 role, with Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho being the two wide attackers. Finally, Nicolas Jackson will lead the line for the home side against Newcastle United.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Gusto; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
