Chelsea handed huge Romeo Lavia boost as Enzo Maresca confirms Liverpool availability | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed Romeo Lavia is in contention to start against Liverpool in the Premier League.

The 21-year-old has been carefully managed by Maresca and the Chelsea medical team, which saw him miss the beginning of the season.

Lavia returned against Brighton & Hove Albion and was given some minutes in the second half, despite Chelsea falling to a 3-1 defeat to the Seagulls. But he was an unused substitute in the Champions League win over Benfica on Tuesday night.

His return to the side is welcomed due to Chelsea's growing injury problems. They are without midfield duo Dario Essugo and Andrey Santos, while Moises Caicedo has been carrying a small issue in recent weeks.

Lavia (#45) made his return in the defeat against Brighton last weekend. | IMAGO / Action Plus

Maresca is unable to rest the Ecuador international because of his importance, but Lavia's return could ease the workload on Caicedo should he require a rest.

Lavia will be pushing for minutes against Liverpool, who he was heavily linked with before finalising a transfer to Chelsea in the summer of 2023.

Maresca was quizzed if the Belgian is now ready to start for Chelsea on Saturday. As quoted by Bobby Vincent, Maresca told reporters: Romeo is ready to play. With Romeo, we are trying to do exactly the same that we have done with Wes and with Reece.

"Now we are in a much better position for both of them. Unfortunately, at this moment, Wes is out, but not for any physical problem. It's just for the concussion against Lincoln.

IMAGO / Every Second Media

“The target with Romeo is that we can help him and we can bring him in the same condition as Wes and Reece, where they can play games. As you can see now, Reece is playing more games without problems. Hopefully, we can do the same with Romeo.”

Meanwhile, Benoit Badiashile could start for Chelsea in Trevoh Chalobah's absence following his suspension.

Chelsea will be hoping to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after consecutive league defeats. Meanwhile, Liverpool are on a two-game losing streak in all competitions and in danger of losing consecutive league matches for the first time since April 2023.