Chelsea: Pressure mounts on young star to plug leaky defence amid injury crisis | OneFootball

Luck does not appear to be on the side of Enzo Maresca and Chelsea right now, but they must control what they can and keep the wheels turning

Your matchday briefing on Chelsea, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dom Smith

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Palmer scored all four goals in Chelsea’s 4-2 win in this fixture last season. Maresca could be forgiven for feeling he simply cannot catch a break, even if in public he insisted he is “not complaining” about the fact injuries already seem to be catching up with the Club World Cup champions.

There is never a welcome time for an injury crisis, naturally, but a defensive injury crisis off the back of the suspect defending produced against Brentford, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and even Lincoln is wholly unwelcome news. Maresca is likely going to have to pair Trevoh Chalobah with 19-year-old Josh Acheampong until the international break. Chalobah has played every minute since the last break, but there is no sign of that changing now.

Chelsea have been left light at the back this season due to the anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by Levi Colwill (also formerly of Brighton) in pre-season which will keep him out for the majority of the campaign. In his absence, Maresca was having to make do with what was left from a squad that was heavily trimmed in the summer. The situation is even more dire than that now that Fofana, Tosin and Palmer are out as well as Dario Essugo, Liam Delap and Colwill.

The Blues won the Conference League winners, lifted the Club World Cup, and qualified for the Champions League last season. This campaign is expected to be as good if not better, but for that to be remotely possible, improvements, particularly defensively, are needed — and fast. The pressure on Chalobah only rises. The pressure on Acheampong arrives immediately and is enormous.

Brighton have already scored 18 goals in all competitions this season and have wily, mercurial forwards such as Diego Gomez, Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari in fine form. Stopping them from causing Chelsea more problems will be a considerable challenge but is crucial if they are to keep within distance of the Premier League summit. Already, after just five games, they trail leaders Liverpool by seven points.

Chelsea have pinched so much of what is good at Brighton over the last few years, from recruitment chiefs and other staff to key players now playing major roles for the Blues, such as Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and the latest to make that now well-trodden path, summer signing Joao Pedro, who will spearhead the Chelsea attack this afternoon.

Even more recently than Joao Pedro’s permanent move midway through the Club World Cup came the left-field news that Facundo Buonanotte had moved to west London on a 12-month loan from Brighton with no option to buy. Buonanotte looked bright when few players did in Lincoln on Tuesday but is ineligible against his parent club, a great shame particularly given the man keeping him out of the team, Palmer, will also be absent.

Chelsea must control what they can control. They face Benfica on Tuesday and Liverpool next week. Important games just keep on coming, and Maresca must put out the best team he can each time, starting against Brighton. Those who feature will know it is imperative they show up — and step up.