Predicted Chelsea line-up vs Everton: Maresca to field strongest side to end winless run
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Enzo Maresca could go all out with his strongest available Chelsea side for Saturday's Premier League home fixture against Everton, with the possibility of resting a few key players in mid-week.
The Blues are in a precarious position in the race for the Champions League spot in the Premier League.
While Chelsea still sit fifth in the table, the mid-table is tightly packed with the west London side being just three points ahead of 12th-placed Newcastle United.
In addition to that, Maresca's side are under a lot of pressure for the Everton game amid a four-game winless run.
The upcoming League Cup quarter-final tie against Cardiff City is important, but on paper, Chelsea should be able to secure a win while resting their key players against the League One side.
Maresca is, therefore, expected to field his best side to host Everton at Stamford Bridge.
This includes the return of Wesley Fofana to the starting line-up to play alongside Trevoh Chalobah.
Speaking in Friday's press conference, Maresca insinuated that these two are his preferred centre-back pairing, as they led Chelsea to several clean sheets in recent weeks.
Marc Cucurella will keep his spot on the left. The right-back spot is trickier to predict because Reece James has played in midfield a lot recently, including against Atalanta on Tuesday.
James should be the first-choice right-back, but if Maresca decided to play him in midfield amid Moises Caicedo's suspension, then Malo Gusto, who also played in midfield against Atalanta, would return to the right-back spot.
Enzo Fernandez struggled when playing as a number 10 against Atalanta, but he should be fine playing more centrally alongside either James or Andrey Santos as a number eight.
Instead, Cole Palmer, whom Maresca confirmed is available for Saturday, is expected to start behind Joao Pedro.
On the right flank, despite Estevao's obvious talent, Maresca seems to trust Pedro Neto more currently.
On the left, Alejandro Garnacho will likely replace Jamie Gittens, who started against Atalanta.
Predicted Chelsea line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Everton
Goalkeeper: Robert Sanchez
Defenders: Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella
Midfielders: Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer
Forwards: Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.