Speaking at Friday’s press conference, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca reveled that Liam Delap (£6.2m) is aiming to return from his hamstring injury next week.
“Liam took part of the session yesterday with the team for the first time. So, he is not going to be available for tomorrow’s game but probably for the next one.
“Yeah, he can be available [for the EFL Cup clash against Wolves next week].” – Enzo Maresca on Liam Delap
That could immediately dent the medium-term appeal of Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) joint-cheapest forward, Marc Guiu (£4.3m).
He should still lead the line for the Blues this weekend, though, having started and scored against Ajax in midweek before coming off at the interval along with other players. Their minutes were seemingly being managed.
“In terms of Joao [Pedro], we know that he can play as a nine or he can play as a 10. In both positions I think Joao is very good but probably when he has another nine next to him, he is playing better.
“We had a chat with Marc two weeks ago, I told him that the way he was training I didn’t like and he needs to change. He changed and he got a chance, so it is like that.
“Since we chat, it’s top, it’s fantastic, it’s working very good. Absolutely yes, he’s ready to start [a Premier League game].” – Enzo Maresca on Marc Guiu
Meanwhile, the Blues have no fresh concerns for the visit of Sunderland.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m), whose knee caused him to miss Gameweek 8, was back against Ajax. The Argentine midfielder got through a planned 45 minutes, scoring a penalty and handing the next one to Estevao (£6.5m).
“The main thing about that game was Enzo. When he gave the ball to Estevao, we got to show how is the team in this moment, how they are all together in terms of togetherness, in terms of effort, and this is what we need if we want to try to do something important.” – Enzo Maresca
Joao Pedro (£7.5m) was suspended in the Champions League but is available for Gameweek 9. Malo Gusto (£4.9m) is the opposite: available on Wednesday but banned on Saturday.
Of the rest, Cole Palmer (£10.3m, groin), Benoit Badiashile (£4.4m, muscle), Levi Colwill (£4.8m, knee) and Dario Essugo (£4.3m, thigh) remain injured.
