🔗 Share this article

Chelsea's manager has suggested that the squad is experiencing the " consequences of their previous global tournament involvement, with a large group of squad members missing for the forthcoming fixture against the Reds.

Present Injury Status

Key player Cole Palmer is out with a persistent groin injury, adding to the roster of lengthy absentees that includes Wesley Fofana, Liam Delap, Colwill, Andrey Santos, and Adarabioyo. Additionally, Trevoh Chalobah is suspended following his dismissal in the last defeat to the Seagulls.

"This is reality," the coach stated. "If Paris Saint-Germain and we have so many fitness issues, probably it's the consequences from the Club World Cup. In this situation we have four or five backline players out, but we're going to try to adapt and discover the best answer."

Report Points to Fixture Issues

A recent study from the worldwide football union Fifpro showed that Chelsea players were allowed three weeks off after winning the Club World Cup in July, while PSG, the beaten runners-up, rested their players for 22 days. The report connected this intense schedule to the fitness problems faced by both teams.

Maresca voiced alignment with the study's conclusions and stressed his faith in the young talent who will step in. Josh Acheampong is expected to earn his fourth top-flight start in defense.

Trust in Youth

"It is challenging," he conceded, "however at the same time we trust the ones that are available. For sure, when you can rotate one individual after four or five games, it's better. The more you perform together with colleagues, the relationship grows stronger. Sometimes you don't even need to talk to do something on the pitch – they grasp instantly. When you continue to rotate it's increasingly hard."

"But I truly trust the emerging stars. Not just the youth that we purchased but additionally the young players from the youth system. We provided games last year to Josh so that shows that I trust young players."

Conduct Issues Addressed

Turning to conduct concerns, the manager claimed he is unworried by Chelsea's history of red cards. The squad has received multiple send-offs in their previous three matches, featuring João Pedro's red card in the European win over Benfica.

After his arrival in June 2024, the club has the poorest conduct record among Premier League teams, with multiple red cards in seventy-three matches – one every 10.4 fixtures. Furthermore, they top the division for yellow cards under his leadership, with 114 cautions.

"There is any conduct problem," Maresca said. "It's necessary to analyse case by case. When it's a dismissal for bad intention or for poor behavior, it's different from the United incident or the Seagulls sending-off. In those cases, it's simply a choice that you have to take in two seconds, three seconds. Do I do a foul or not? It's tough."