After stealing all three points at the death away at Bournemouth last week, Chelsea brace themselves for another tough away Premier League fixture.
Up next in the league for the Blues is a local affair against West Ham.
Ahead of the game, their manager spoke about some startling omissions he has made for the first half of his side’s upcoming European campaign.
Enzo Maresca talks about players “out of the Conference League squad” amid increasing fixture congestion
Speaking ahead of his side’s upcoming game against West Ham, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca spoke about, among other things, his decision to drop some key players from his UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) squad.
The likes of Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, and Roméo Lavia are set to sit out the league phase of the Conference League.
“I said the reason why Cole [Palmer], Wes [Fofana] and Romeo [Lavia], they are out of the Conference League squad is just to protect them a little bit. For Wes and Romeo it is a bit different because they came from long injuries last year.
“For Cole, it is a mix; in terms of it has been a tough season for him, an intense season last year. We try to protect him. As I said, the reason why is just because of that.”
Maresca on his omissions, as quoted by Football London.
Chelsea kick off their UECL campaign against Belgian side Gent on Thursday, October 3.
A bold yet wise call
The sheer on-paper dominance of his side compared to most others in the Europa Conference League has allowed Maresca to make this call. Most likely, he will be able to get away with it.
Chelsea should not have any issues making the knockouts; failing to do so, even just making the playoff places, would leave the Italian coach in quite a spot of bother.
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And truthfully, this is not a decision he would have been able to make if Chelsea were playing even Europa League this season, let alone the Champions League.
