In a few days, the group stages for the UEFA Conference League will begin, and Chelsea have announced their squad for the tournament. Surprisingly, the new manager, Enzo Maresca, has decided to exclude Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, and Wesley Fofana.
The Blues have the largest squad in the English Premier League. They have two or three players for each position. This could be a headache for the new manager. He has to exclude some players due to the squad limit of the European tournaments.
Announced Chelsea squad
The announced Chelsea squad for the UEFA Conference League:
Forwards: Guiu, Jackson; Midfielders: Caicedo, Casadei, Enzo, Dews-Bury-Hall, Chukwuemeka; Attackers: Madueke, Felix, Mudryk, Neto, Nkunku, Sancho; Wing Backs: Cucurella, Veiga, Gusto, James; Defenders: Disasi, Tosin, Badiashile; Goalkeeper: Sánchez, Jörgensen, Bergström
List B: Acheampong, Colwill, Dyer, George, McMahon, and Merrick.
Reasons for excluding Palmer from the Chelsea squad
According to SB Nation, Cole Palmer is rehabbing due to some unspecified fitness issue. That is why he had withdrawn from the England national team. For the same reason, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was forced to keep him out of the squad. Palmer is most likely going to miss the game against Bournemouth on Sunday.
Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana also have injury issues. So, Maresca has given them time to recover. The young players have therefore, been excluded from the squad for the Conference League, for now.
We are all expecting an entertaining clash at Stamford Bridge, and there can be no entertainment without players like Cole Palmer. The star man is Chelsea’s key player. Surprisingly, he is not in this squad, but only for now.
Predicted First XI Against Bournemouth
Attack
So, Enzo Maresca can employ new signing Pedro Neto on the left wing, with Noni Madueke on the right. Joao Felix could also be seen starting, operating from the middle. The Portuguese can add a lot of creativity from the middle of the pitch. That is why he could be seen playing in the number ten position. The Italian manager can bring on Jadon Sancho later on in the game, because we know that the talented winger has the pace to beat opponent players. Fans are very excited to see Sancho make his first appearance for the Blues.
In the number nine position, it is believed that Nicolas Jackson will again be expected to lead the line. We have seen some decent performances from the Senegalese forward this season. However, his position in the starting XI is challenged by Christopher Nkunku, who is a deadly finisher, very clinical in-front of the goal.
Midfield
In the midfield, Enzo Maresca seems happy with the pair of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Both of them can play well in the double pivot midfield system. In the last game against Crystal Palace, we saw either Enzo or Caicedo was dropping deep into the centre-back position, providing more defensive strength for the 10-man Chelsea team.
Defense and goalkeeping
In the defense, the duo of Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile is expected to start. Malo Gusto is the usual starter at the right-back position for Chelsea, however, he faced an injury in the last game against Palace, increasing Axel Disasi’s chances of starting at the right-back spot instead of him.
Marc Cucurella will be starting in the left-back position. Later on, the fans might see Renato Veiga replace him. For the goalkeeping position, we can see Robert Sanchez is expected to star in between the posts for the Blues..
This season, Ben Chilwell is not expected be play for Chelsea because he doesn’t fit into Enzo Maresca’s playing system. That is why the Blues have decided to sell the Champions League-winning left back.
Future of Chelsea
There is no doubt that Chelsea will aim to rise again in European football. Last season was a a slight improvement from the 2022/23 for them, as they finished in the sixth position. Just when the entire squad seemed to be getting stable, Todd Boehly and co decided to sack Mauricio Pochettino, disrupting the momentum.
According to multiple sources, some players were also frustrated with the Argentine manager. However, positive results had just begun to come under Pochettino. From the beginning, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have insisted on building a long-term project at Stamford Bridge. On the other hand, they are changing managers season-after-season. These decisions do not justify their long-term vision that they have planned with Chelsea.
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