How should Chelsea line up against Leicester in Maresca's return to his old club?
Today at 04:17 AM
Leicester City vs. Chelsea, Premier League: You choose the starting lineup
Proper football is back this weekend, and it's in fact Chelsea who get the Premier League party started with a Saturday lunchtime visit to Leicester, Enzo Maresca's former club.
That's three bad omens, if you're counting — post-international break, Saturday lunchtime, former club — so perhaps it's no wonder that Reece James has picked up another hamstring injury in training this week and has been ruled out. The football gods are clearly displeased. And no one's putting a timeline on his return at this point.
So that's not great, but everyone else should be available, even Jadon Sancho, though some may be dealing with a bit of travel fatigue or post-injury considerations. Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Roméo Lavia, and Levi Colwill all dealt with various levels of injury concerns over the break, but were not mentioned by Maresca in his earlier than normal pre-match press conference. (Lavia seemed like the one actual concern?)
The next few months are usually the busiest stretch in any season and our fitness and depth will be undoubtedly tested, regardless of strength-of-schedule, which may be getting a bit easier. Keeping players fit and ready will be of even greater importance.
