All is well in the land of Enzo Maresca at Chelsea and the Stamford Bridge faithful will be hoping to tuck into a serene exhibition on Tuesday night.
The Blues begin their Carabao Cup journey against confident League Two leaders Barrow having extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games with a 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday. The victory meant Maresca became the first manager since Pep Guardiola in 2016 to win his first three Premier League away games at a new club.
Given the strength and depth of the squad at his disposal, the Italian will make wholesale changes to this starting XI in midweek. It seems as if the new manager has already stumbled upon his preferred XI, so Tuesday’s game is significant for fringe players in search of more minutes.
Here’s how Chelsea could line up against Barrow on Tuesday night.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Barrow (4-2-3-1)
GK: Filip Jorgensen – Robert Sanchez is Chelsea’s number one and the Spaniard has enjoyed an excellent start to the season. Summer arrival Jorgensen is the deputy and will earn the bulk of his minutes in the cup competitions.
RB: Axel Disasi – Reece James and Malo Gusto both remain sidelined, so converted centre-back Disasi will get the nod at right-back.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – The first signing of the Maresca era has a usurpable Wesley Fofana ahead of him in the depth chart. Tosin will be keen to make an impression in this one, although he might not be particularly busy.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – The former Monaco defender has endured an up-and-down Chelsea career, with Levi Colwill blossoming at the start of the new season to leave Badiashile on the periphery.
LB: Renato Veiga – Veiga is a versatile operator and could start in midfield. However, an inverted role from left-back also suits the former Basel star.
CM: Moises Caicedo – The Ecuador international has quickly emerged as one of Maresca’s most trusted lieutenants. He’s been excellent at the start of the 2024/25 campaign and may well captain the side on Tuesday night.
CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Maresca’s go-to man in the East Midlands is a sure bet to come into the team having been limited to cameo appearances in the Premier League thus far. Caicedo’s presence and Veiga’s potential inversion will allow Dewsbury-Hall to maraud up the left half-space.
RW: Pedro Neto – Noni Madueke’s resurgence has limited Neto’s game time at the start of his Chelsea career. These are the sorts of contests the winger will want to dominate.
AM: Joao Felix – It’s been a subdued start for Felix upon his return to the club despite scoring at Molineux. He has the almighty task of usurping Cole Palmer for Premier League starts.
LW: Mykhailo Mudryk – There are murmurs of Mudryk’s time at Chelsea potentially drawing to a close, with the Ukrainian failing to build any positive momentum in west London. He’s done little to convince Maresca thus far.
ST: Christopher Nkunku – Maresca’s faith in Nicolas Jackson was vindicated at the weekend after Nkunku had won the game for Chelsea at Bournemouth the previous week. With the Frenchman coming off the bench at West Ham, he should return to the starting XI and perform a withdrawn forward role.
