Enzo Maresca now has “striking options” – but we already know who he’s picking against Burnley | OneFootball

It’s always interesting to get the opinion of non-Chelsea fans who watch the Blues every week, which was why we were curious to see what Dom Smith of the Evening Standard had to say about the win over Wolves on Saturday.

Chelsea’s strike setup developing – but Blues have options

Liam Delap battles for the ball up top. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

He focused on the positives of the attacking options available to Enzo Maresca opening up now that injured and suspended players are returning.

“With Delap now back from injury and steadily working his way back to match fitness and form, Chelsea’s striking options have grown,” Smith wrote.

“Joao Pedro scored the game’s only goal in the win over Tottenham from the No9 position; it is Delap’s favoured role; it is Marc Guiu’s favoured role; Neto scored against Wolves there; and Tyrique George has been used there plenty by Maresca.

“Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto play the role very differently to Delap, for example, but that opportunity to switch it up can only be an advantage for the Blues.”

Even though Delap toiled in the win over Wolves, we reckon he stays as first choice there just because of how it unlocks Joao Pedro. There’s a while to wait before our next game, but we’d be very surprised (fatigue and injury permitting) if it’s not JP and LD up front.

In other news…

Pedro Neto is one of the senior players in this group now and he delivered like one with a great outing against his former team Wolves. He talked through the reasons he thought his team had been able to get the win.

One of the big positives from Chelsea’s win was the performance of Enzo Fernandez, who is battling through a bone bruise to play at a really high level right now. Various pundits have given him serious praise for his grit.