Aston Villa2 - 1Chelsea

The Blues went through the first half of the season with Robert Sanchez as the established number one and Filip Jorgensen the designated cup stopper.

However, pivotal errors from each goalkeeper since the turn of the year have left Chelsea without an clear-cut first choice amid their worst run of form of 2024-25.

On Saturday night, Chelsea suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa, letting slip a half-time lead and Jorgensen allowing a Marco Asensio volley to squirm under him for the winning strike.

With Jorgensen having also failed to impress in the previous 3-0 reverse at Brighton & Hove Albion, Maresca has been provided with a selection dilemma.

'It is delicate'

Southampton are the visitors to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, a quick turnaround when Maresca will need to contemplate alterations in other areas of the pitch.

Speaking at a press conference after Saturday's defeat, Maresca indicated that he would assess the pros and cons of his next decision, aware that both goalkeepers are short on confidence.

As quoted by football.london, the Italian said: "The 'keeper position is a delicate one because the striker can miss the goal and sometimes it doesn't look so important but when a 'keeper makes a mistake, it's so clear and everyone can see that.

"This is a moment where we need to support each other, be strong and continue to work hard.

"I have a feeling in this moment that we need to win a game to go again. But now, the good thing in two or three days we have one more game at home and hopefully we can finally, with our fans in our stadium, try to get the three points and from there, start again and try to go again."

Sanchez, Jorgensen numbers compared

Sanchez has racked up a total of 21 starts in the Premier League this season, Jorgensen having recently took his total up to five games.

In cup competitions, Sanchez only has the one outing - at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round - while Jorgensen has racked up 11 games, many of which have come in the Conference League.

Although Sanchez has been praised for saving Chelsea in specific moments this campaign, the Spain international only has four clean sheets from 22 outings, as well as making five mistakes that have directly led to goals.

Meanwhile, Jorgensen has conceded 18 goals during his 16 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, keeping five shutouts. None of those have come in the Premier League.

Who starts against Southampton is anyone's guess, but preference may be given to Sanchez, despite Chelsea fans having previously welcomed the decision to bench the 27-year-old in recent weeks.

Written by

Darren Plant