Noni Madueke and Marc Cucurella will return to the Chelsea starting lineup against Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways and keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the table when they welcome Fulham to Stamford Bridge on Thursday afternoon. Enzo Maresca has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Marc Cucurella is available after serving a one-match suspension this past weekend against Everton. However, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, and Benoit Badiashile remain on the sidelines for the home side.
Romeo Lavia should return to the starting lineup soon, but the game against Fulham has come too soon for the Belgian international. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca provided a fitness update on Lavia.
The Chelsea manager said, “Romeo is still recovering. He’s much, much better and out on the pitch and working but unfortunately, he’s not ready for the next game. It’s the same situation [as before Everton] for the other players.”
Maresca also spoke about Enzo Fernandez’s improving form, saying, “We are very happy with Enzo. Once again against Everton, he showed he is doing very well. He was playing for one hour as a holding midfielder with Moi [Caicedo], then for the last half-an-hour we moved him in the pocket and we dropped Malo [Gusto] next to Moi, to change a little bit, and I feel that in both positions he was doing well.”
Enzo Fernandez will pair up with Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. The backline should see one change, with Marc Cucurella replacing Axel Disasi. The Spanish international will join Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, and Malo Gusto in the backline.
The rest of the starting lineup should witness only one other change, with Noni Madueke coming in for Jadon Sancho due to rotation. The English attacker should accompany Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, and Nicolas Jackson in the final third.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Madueke; Jackson
