Chelsea missing FOUR players for Newcastle clash

Enzo Maresca is preparing Chelsea to play Newcastle after beating the Magpies over the weekend at Stamford Bridge – but he will be without some key men.

The Italian has a fully fit squad to choose from against Newcastle tonight in the Carabao Cup, but some players will be omitted.

He is expected to rotate heavily for midweek against Eddie Howe’s outfit. Even though

Reece James has recovered from his latest hamstring injury, it’s thought we will be left out, per Football. London.

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Wesley Fofana sustained a knee injury during the club’s 2-1 win over Newcastle but continued to play the full match. Romeo Lavia is back fit in recent weeks but he will be left out for rotation as Maresca looks to continue his load management.

Lastly, Josh Acheampong will be sidelined until he agrees to take up Chelsea’s contract offer. The club had put one on the table for him but he chose not to sign a long-term contract. He won’t be taking part until it is resolved.

Chelsea are currently fifth in the Premier League table after a good start to the season under Maresca. It follows a period of chaos for the club, where their transfer activity was heavily criticised. The general feeling was that so many outgoings would bring about instability – but it appears not to be the case.

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Maresca expectations

Ahead of the Newcastle game, he spoke about the expectations on him and the campaign.

“The club never mentioned to me about the top four. They always said the target is to build something important for the next four, five years,” he said.

“For sure we’re working every day to build something important. Could it be a pressure for the players? I don’t think so, because if you go game by game you can see yourself where you are in that moment.”

“If you start to think about top four or top six, you’re thinking about May, June. For me it’s too far.”