Enzo Maresca drops Reece James & Cole Palmer Chelsea selection hints vs Leeds United | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has dropped a few team selection hints regarding Reece James and Cole Palmer ahead of Wednesday's trip to Leeds United.

Maresca surprisingly only made one change in Chelsea's starting line-ups against Barcelona and Arsenal, with Joao Pedro replacing Alejandro Garnacho at the weekend.

These were two back-to-back big games against top teams, however, and the Italian is likely to return to the previous rotation approach.

Several key players' minutes are still being cautiously managed, and according to Maresca, Reece James is among them.

IMAGO / Sportimage

"It's complicated. I would like to start him, but we need to do the right thing," he said in Tuesday's press conference when speaking about the Chelsea captain.

Maresca also confirmed that Cole Palmer, who unfortunately did not get the chance to make his return against Arsenal, is not yet ready to play full 90-minute games.

"He is available," Maresca said about Palmer.

"The last game, he was on the bench. For sure, with the players was more complicated for Cole because now he needs to come back in terms of fitness condition.

"He is available, he can start the game. The idea of the game is to start giving minutes until he can play 90 minutes."

IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Wesley Fofana could be rested for the Leeds clash, too, considering it was the first time he played twice a week since returning from a long-term hamstring injury absence at the start of the season.

While in terms of workload, Marc Cucurella has now had the most Premier League minutes among Chelsea outfielders.

It would be interesting if Maresca continues to rely on the defender's impressive endurance in the next two games.

Enzo Fernandez is another one key player who has played a lot of football since the start of the season.

Resting him while Moises Caicedo is serving a three-match suspension could prove difficult, but limiting his minutes in games should be viable.