Chelsea has just four injury absentees for Sunday’s clash against Premier League champions Liverpool.
The Reds head to Stamford Bridge to play the first of four matches in what is essentially their 2024-25 victory tour. They will then play games against Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Crystal Palace.
As for fifth-place Chelsea, it still has plenty to play for and is very much in the race for the Champions League places as the season enters the final month. That even appears to be taking preference over the Blues’ Europa Conference League run, and Enzo Maresca rotated his side for the midweek trip to Sweden when Chelsea beat Djurgarden 4-1.
Levi Colwill and Pedro Neto were given the night off for the first leg of the European semi-final, while eight players – including Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, and Nicolas Jackson – only featured for 45 minutes.
However, the squad that flew to Scandinavia was missing two regulars in Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku, both of whom were unavailable due to knocks.
Speaking ahead of the Liverpool encounter, Maresca confirmed the pair will be assessed before Sunday’s clash.
“At the moment, just Marc Guiu and [Aaron] Anselmino are out,” said the former Leicester City boss. “Christo Nkunku has a small problem. When we get back to Cobham, the medical staff will tell me how he is and what his status is. He wasn’t with us in Sweden.
“It is exactly the same for Robert Sanchez too, although he is working on the pitch, so compared to Christo, he is a better situation. He wasn’t with us in Sweden either and we will see and assess them both before Sunday.”
Given their long-term absences, Maresca didn’t reference Wesley Fofana or Omari Kellyman in his round-up of injuries, with both set to miss the remainder of the campaign. Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended.
Maresca also confirmed Chelsea will give the new champions a guard of honor ahead of Sunday’s game, while the Italian admitted there is currently a vast gulf between the old rivals.
“I think the gap is there, you can see it clearly,” said Maresca. “My feeling is that we are in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be closed.
“The difference has been probably that they have been consistent compared to us.
“Also, in terms of experience, players that know how to win games, I think they have something more compared to us.”
