Enzo Maresca will want a response from his Chelsea players after Saturday’s draw away to Brentford as the Blues face Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener
Chelsea will kick off their Champions League campaign with arguably their toughest league phase game. Enzo Maresca’s side are off to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich, where they’ll be up against a familiar face in the form of Nicolas Jackson.
Senegal star Jackson completed a loan move to Bayern later in the window, making his debut from the bench in Saturday’s victory over Hamburg. He’ll be hoping to further dent his parent club after the Blues dropped points at Brentford over the weekend.
Maresca made no secret of the fact that he used the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to try some different things, giving much-needed minutes to Wesley Fofana and Jorrel Hato for slightly different reasons. The Italian is not expected to name the same XI after the slow start on Saturday, and indeed he could change close to half of his starting line-up.
There is likely to be some continuity with the core of the team, at least. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was rotated with Filip Jorgensen during the Conference League last season, but it will be different in the Champions League.
In front of Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah partnered Tosin at the back against Brentford and could well continue. It’s likely to be all-change at full-back, though, with Marc Cucurella returning on the left and Reece James potentially edging out Malo Gusto after playing 45 minutes over the weekend.
The midfield double-pivot of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez has been a constant in the league, with the pair starting all four matches. In front of them, Cole Palmer’s scoring return on Saturday suggests he’s ready to feature from the start in the number 10 role.
Out wide, Estevao missed the Brentford game through illness but shared a photo from the training ground on Tuesday to suggest he’s ready to return. The Brazilian could take the place of Jamie Gittens, with Pedro Neto switching to the left wing, though Alejandro Garnacho will also be knocking on the door of a full debut after his cameo against the Bees.
Up front, Joao Pedro will continue to lead the line with Liam Delap still some way off a return. Chelsea opted against cancelling Jackson’s loan in the light of Delap’s hamstring injury, instead bringing Marc Guiu back to Stamford Bridge, but their Brazil international is expected to remain the focal point up front.
Ahead of the game, captain James warned Chelsea of the danger of a Bayern side with three wins and 14 goals from their first three Bundesliga fixtures. “They are always super strong,” the England international said.
“They are a European giant, and they have won the competition before and know what it takes. So, it will be a super tough game.”
Chelsea predicted XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella, Enzo, Caicedo; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro
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