Enzo Maresca names his first Premier League XI as Chelsea boss for Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester City, making some surprise decisions in the process.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has made some surprise decisions for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Manchester City.
Given the vast amount of players at his disposal, the Italian was always going to have a dilemma over who to select in his starting lineup and on the substitutes’ bench.
The most notable decision arguably comes with the latter courtesy of former Man City star Raheem Sterling being left out of the squad, with Mykhaylo Mudryk getting the nod with regards to being selected as a replacement.
Despite their minimal time back with the group after their efforts for Spain and England at Euro 2024, Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer are each selected in the first XI.
Nicolas Jackson is another player with just one pre-season outing under his belt, yet he has been picked in the final third alongside Christopher Nkunku.
Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill are chosen in the centre of a back four, while Romeo Lavia receives his first Chelsea start a year on from his transfer from Southampton.
Pedro Neto, as expected, is named on the bench, as are new signings Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Guiu.
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As for Man City, Savinho has been provided with his Premier League debut courtesy of the fractured leg that Oscar Bobb sustained earlier this week.
There are few other surprises with England trio Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden all being kept in reserve having only taken part in a few training sessions.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Jackson, Nkunku
Subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Veiga, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, Mudryk, Neto, Guiu
Manchester City: Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo; Savinho, Haaland, Doku
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Stones, Ake, Grealish, Nunes, Foden, O’Reilly, McAtee
More to follow.
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