Leicester 1-2 Chelsea

[NikkiCFC 7,953]

11 hours ago, King Kante said:

Veiga and Caicedo will play - I cannot see him not playing Caicedo unless he has had a knock or is too fatigued. Despite what this is saying, Caicedo is clearly the CM1 and managers don't replace them unless it is completely required. If Caicedo is buggered then Enzo and Veiga. This is unless Lavia pulled a old SAF era Utd move of complaining of injury during the internationals, to only be OK the very next game for his club. 

I mean Enzo is not in starting 11 this is his chance in absence of Lavia. He should come and say forget jet leg I'm ready to go. 

[Special Juan 27,429]

Fatawu or whatever he is called is out hes done his ACL

[Vesper 28,841]

1 hour ago, Special Juan said:

Fatawu or whatever he is called is out hes done his ACL

[Vytis33 1,142]

 

[mkh 274]

Maresca: “The ones who are going to play against Leicester aren’t going to be 100% because they are human beings but hopefully we can find the right balance”

 

Enzo Maresca when asked about playing Palmer and Felix together:

🗣️ "This could be a target for the future to see both of them to play together."

Edited Thursday at 12:59 by mkh

[Special Juan 27,429]

41 minutes ago, Vytis33 said:

 

Said it a million times, move him on he will never ever be right

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

1 hour ago, Special Juan said:

Said it a million times, move him on he will never ever be right

Madrid looking for a RB, if TAA doesn’t go there should try and get a good fee for him off of them. Absolute liability.

Edited Thursday at 14:54 by OneMoSalah

[Strike 7,217]

I'll never give up hope on Reece but would get in a Veiga type hybrid for RB in any case next season. 

Full force Reece is among the best RBs in the world.

[Vesper 28,841]

9 hours ago, Vytis33 said:

 

Chelsea’s Reece James out of Leicester game with hamstring injury

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5937301/2024/11/21/reece-james-hamstring-injury-Chelsea/

Chelsea captain Reece James has suffered another injury setback after being ruled out of the Premier League match at Leicester City on Saturday.

Head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that 24-year-old James sustained a minor hamstring problem during training on Tuesday.

This is the ninth time James has been ruled out with a hamstring injury in the past five years. He went 18 months without completing 90 minutes in the Premier League between April 2023-October 2024 and had surgery last December in a bid to cure it for good.

But James has made just three starts for the club this campaign and is now facing another spell on the sidelines.

Maresca said: “We have just one injured player and that is Reece, who unfortunately felt something small and we don’t want to take any risks for the weekend. He is the only one (right now) who is for sure not available this weekend. It’s a hamstring, a muscle problem. Hopefully it is not something long.”

Chelsea play Heidenheim in the UEFA Conference League next Thursday and Maresca is already suggesting James will not be able to return for that fixture.

Maresca says James’ lack of availability is more frustrating for him and added: “I know that it is not easy (for him). But if every time he gets injured it becomes hard for him, it’s for me even worse.

“He has to accept that and try to avoid (injury) as much as he can. But sometimes things happen even if you want to avoid it.

“Now we are playing every three days so it is probably difficult for him to be available for the Conference League. Hopefully he can be available soon.”

GO DEEPER

Reece James: Captain, leader, left-back

Injuries have stalled James’s career

The injury may have been initially described as ‘minor’ but the news that Reece James is complaining of another hamstring problem is another significant blow for the 24-year-old.

James is regarded as one of the best right backs in Europe but his career has stalled since being part of the Chelsea squad which won the Champions League in 2021 — due to his volume of fitness issues.

For example, the defender was on the pitch for just 482 minutes in all competitions for Chelsea last season. He has started just three games under Enzo Maresca in 2024-25 and the first of those only came last month after breaking down in pre-season.

After making his comeback, Maresca warned that James is capable of only playing “once a week” for the time being. But even though his minutes have been managed, it has not prevented another issue from occurring.

James is already facing strong competition from Malo Gusto to play regularly in a Chelsea shirt. In the club’s previous fixture against Arsenal, he was named on the bench with Marc Cucurella and Gusto starting at full back.

While Maresca clearly wants to include James in his plans, it is clearly not a good situation for Chelsea to be without their captain on a regular basis.

[Fernando 6,464]

9 hours ago, Special Juan said:

Said it a million times, move him on he will never ever be right

Kind of like kante. Maybe the Saudi league will be good for him. 

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

1 hour ago, Fernando said:

Kind of like kante. Maybe the Saudi league will be good for him. 

Tbf different situations entirely.

Kante started getting a lot of injuries at the end of his career - after playing a tonne of minutes for seasons on end for both club & country.

Not when starting/coming up to his best years and having struggled to play regularly for seasons on end. 

Edited Friday at 00:38 by OneMoSalah

[Stats 7,056]

We are playing Leicester at a good game. Buonanotte is suspended, who has been brilliant for Leicester since joining them on loan. Big bonus for us. Fatawu has done his ACL after getting injured on international duty. Real maverick of a player and he was brilliant in the FA Cup game at the Bridge last season. Ayew also got inured on international duty and is another doubt. Keep 11 on the pitch and don't play too much of a high line with Vardy in their attack and we should win this.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,481]

 

[Fulham Broadway 16,858]

Sanchez, Fofana, Bada, Colwill, Cucu, Caecedo, Enzo, Madueke, Palmer, Felix, Jackson

[Vytis33 1,142]

 

[nyikolajevics 2,578]

So Gusto also out, great.. Badi kr Fofana will be RB?

[Vytis33 1,142]

 

[LAM09 6,751]

I have a number of concerns with that XI. The lack of width being the main one.