Chelsea will aim to continue the push for a top-five finish when they welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening. Enzo Maresca has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Wesley Fofana, Omari Kellyman, and Marc Guiu are the only players in the treatment room, with the trio recovering from long-term hamstring injuries. None of the three youngsters will return this season, with their campaigns coming to a premature end.
In addition, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable due to suspension after failing a doping test several weeks ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca did not discuss any team news. Instead, he focused on urging his players to remain level-headed in the final weeks of the 2024/25 season as they vie for a top-five finish and the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Chelsea manager said, “The mood is good and I’ve said for a few weeks now that it’s a matter of how we manage emotions until the end [of the season]. When we win games, we are happy and when we don’t win, we’re not happy. But it’ll be a race until the end and we need to manage the emotions.”
“In this moment, the main thing is to watch ourselves and be focused on ourselves. This is the main point. For sure, there are more clubs involved [in the top-five race] but for us, it’s important to stay focused on ourselves. We will prepare the game in the best way we can because we know how important it is for us. We know on the other side is a team that have shown how good they are all season.”
Robert Sanchez will replace Filip Jorgensen between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Liverpool on Sunday. The backline should feature Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella; the latter is the only player to retain his spot in the defensive unit.
As for the midfield unit, Moises Caicedo should replace Reece James and Enzo Fernandez’s partner 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 lead the line for the home side against Liverpool on Sunday.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
