Everything Chelsea says ahead of Tottenham clash
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has delivered positive team news ahead of Monday’s London derby, confirming that Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Joao Pedro are all fit for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Enzo Maresca was shown the red card against Liverpool (Photo Credit: Chelsea/X)
Recent encounters in north London have been eventful for the Blues. The 2023/24 season saw a chaotic 4-1 victory for Chelsea after Tottenham were reduced to nine men.
Last season, Maresca’s squad staged a remarkable comeback from two goals down to secure a dramatic 4-3 win, a match highlighted by two Cole Palmer goals, including a coolly taken Panenka penalty.
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However, Chelsea will be without their star attacker this time, as Palmer remains sidelined with a groin issue. He is joined on the injury list by Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, and Dario Essugo. Additionally, Liam Delap is unavailable due to suspension following his red card in the Carabao Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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Joao Pedro was rested for the midweek game at Molineux as part of a managed workload, while Fernandez and Caicedo only featured as second-half substitutes.
What Maresca said
Maresca has now stated that all three are ready to play a part against Spurs.
“They are okay, they are available. The reason why Joao didn’t play against Wolves is that we tried to protect him. It was the same thing with Moi and with Enzo; just giving them some minutes. But the idea is to protect these players,” he said.
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Maresca elaborated on the need to carefully manage his players’ fitness, especially given their injury concerns.
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“Game by game, we can’t plan with them because of their problems, their situations. So, it’s about taking it game-by-game and seeing how many minutes we can use them. We try to use the whole squad because, at this moment, we need the whole squad,” he explained.
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Enzo Maresca told Jackson to leave the club.
Regarding Palmer, who has been out since September, Maresca reiterated that there is no immediate timeline for his return.
“With Cole, the plan is exactly the same. We will wait and hopefully he can be back soon,” he said during his pre-match press conference.
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Tottenham Hotspur hosts Chelsea in a Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.
