Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca expects to be without as many as eight players for Saturday’s crunch meeting with Liverpool.
The Blues boss is under pressure after a return of just eight points from an opening six games which, on paper, were comparatively kind to Chelsea.
Maresca is well aware of the need to improve before Liverpool’s trip to Stamford Bridge, but the Italian’s squad options are limited as a large number of players have already been ruled out through injury or suspension.
In his pre-match press conference, Maresca repeatedly pointed to the number of unavailable players. “We have seven or eight players out,” was his final statement on the subject, having pointed to the numbers several times prior to that.
The headline omission for Chelsea is midfielder Cole Palmer. The Englishman is being rested to protect a groin injury which has plagued him all season, with Maresca hopeful that a short spell out of action will prevent the need for surgery further down the line.
“I don’t have any update at the moment,” he said of Palmer. “We have a meeting this week to see how it is.”
