Maresca told to “balance fitness and form” with two huge games around the corner | OneFootball

An interesting article by Dom Smith in the Evening Standard today posits that Chelsea’s return to Premier League action in this Saturdays’ early kick off is more than just a chance to win 3 points.

Enzo Maresca thrown back into doubts over team to face Burnley

Reece James applauds the Chelsea fans. (Photo by Aziz Karimov/Getty Images)

The writer points out that, with Barcelona and Arsenal to come next week, this seemingly standard game against a promoted team takes on big significance as an “audition” for players wanting to earn their place for the big games next week.

That’s certainly true, and there are other factors too – for one, two key players in Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella played 180 minutes for their national team in the last fortnight. If they want to play 180 minutes next week, they surely can’t also start on Saturday, opening up a couple of spots for alternatives to impress.

Reece James played one game for England and is not going to be able to face Arsenal and Barca if he starts against Burnley. There are a lot of questions for Enzo Maresca to answer, and just as he’s reached the point where he’d established a pretty clear preferred XI, he’s going to have to shake it up.

Smith concludes, quite rightly, that: “whatever Maresca decides, he cannot rest too many of Chelsea’s best players against Burnley. Fitness ahead of Barcelona and Arsenal is vital, sure, but so too is form.”

In other news…

Geovany Quenda is going to arrive at Chelsea next summer and there’s already speculation about his future. Will he end up on loan or come straight into Enzo Maresca’s first team?

Chelsea are still being linked with Kenan Yildiz, the attacking midfielder at Juventus whose contract is gradually ticking towards an end. We looked at his future in the piece here.