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Enzo Maresca names only Chelsea player guaranteed to start against Tottenham

talksport.com, 5 December 2024, 13:29
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is the only player who is guaranteed to start against Tottenham.

The Blues dominated against Southampton on Wednesday night with a convincing 5-1 win.

Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen made his Premier League debut against Southampton with an impressive display, although he was unable to keep a clean sheet.

Post-match, Maresca was questioned about the Blues starting line-up to face Tottenham in the next match on Sunday.

Marseca revealed: "That day we are going to play Robert Sanchez and 10 players. The only one that is sure is Sanchez."

Sanchez has made some big mistakes so far this season, with Chelsea's goalkeeping situation something of a hot topic.

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It is unclear whether Marseca has more faith in Sanchez over Jorgensen for such a big game against Spurs, or it's simply down to squad rotation.

During last week's episode of Inside Chelsea, the topic of Sanchez was brought into discussion.

Chelsea fan and content creator Matisse Armani said: "This is the one position (goalkeeper) that I really feel like Chelsea have had a high quality over the years and if they want to go to the next level it needs to be rectified.

"Can you do that in January? Probably not."

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Ex-Blues defender Jason Cundy added: "I think the business is done, but I take the point that most fans look at the goalkeeping situation and think, 'Is it alright right now?'

"But I think what we've got is probably what we're going to get, but we'll probably see the squad trimmed."

Despite the win against Southampton, Maresca had one thing he wasn't happy about.

"I'm very happy with the five goals we scored,' said Maresca.

"I'm not happy with the first 15 to 20 minutes where we struggled. We struggled because we prepared the game to play man-to-man (out of possession), and we were not pressing man-to-man in the first 15 to 20 minutes.

"If you don't go man to man against this team, you struggle to recover the ball. After that, we adjusted that and the game was much better. It completely changed.

"It was a good game from all of them. Sometimes you have to adapt when you play 10 players, you can slow the game and keep the ball, but we created so many chances. We could have scored more, but five goals is enough."

Chelsea are second in the Premier League table and on a four-match winning streak heading into the clash with London rivals Spurs.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hints he wants more from his Chelsea players after their 5-1 win over Southampton

Tottenham have taken six points from three games against their fellow 'big six' sides so far this season, also beating Man City in the EFL Cup.

Spurs, however, have nine players sidelined through injury and sit eighth in the table after an inconsistent run of form.

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