Jadon Sancho will make his first start for Chelsea when they face West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday.
Chelsea will aim to continue the recent unbeaten run when they lock horns with West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon. And Enzo Maresca has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have recovered from the illness that forced them to miss the game against Bournemouth last weekend. In addition, Malo Gusto (hamstring) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) have resumed training after recuperating from their recent issues.
However, Reece James and Omari Kellyman remain on the sidelines due to their hamstring injuries. In addition, Gusto misses out despite resuming training. Meanwhile, Maresca provided the team news update on several players during his pre-match press conference.
The Chelsea manager said, “Ahead of the weekend we have Enzo back and Keirnan back. In terms of players who aren’t available, Malo is still out and Reece is still out. His [James] injury is a bit delayed and the most important thing for him – for any injury – is the player comes back when they are 100% fit and Reece is still out.”
“Unfortunately we don’t have an idea [when James will be back] at the moment. In terms of injuries in the past, we always hope we can find the right solution. In this case, he has been very unlucky because we planned to change him after something like 65 minutes and he got an injury after 62 or 63 minutes. So it was a bit unlucky. Hopefully we can have him back fit as soon as possible.”
With Gusto and James still unavailable, Axel Disasi will continue as the right-back. The French defender will join Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella in the Chelsea backline, with Robert Sanchez retaining his spot between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Enzo Fernandez should return, lining up alongside 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 spearhead the attack for the away side against West Ham.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Disasi, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
