Maresca could fix the Lavio hole by offloading Chelsea’s “very important” star

Chelsea have the opportunity to close the gap between themselves and Liverpool in Premier League in the table to just two points with a win against Brentford, which would also move them four points clear of third-placed Arsenal.

Enzo Maresca continues to say that Chelsea are not in the title race, but a win against the Bees would make it very difficult for him to continue with these ideas. It’s Chelsea averaged the fourth most possession in the league this season at 56.4%they take 15.3 shots per game (fourth most again), and concede just 11.6 shots per game (sixth fewest in the division).

However, the Italian will be fully focused on one game at a time and this game against Brentford will be treated like any other, which could involve some more tactical changes, especially in the absence Romeo Lavia.

Chelsea team news ahead of Brentford

The three players who will certainly be ruled out for the Blues are Rhys James, Wesley Fofana and Pedro Neto. James and Fofana are out with injuries, while Neto is suspended after picking up six yellow cards in the Premier League.

Mihail Mudrik is another who is unlikely to feature, having missed Chelsea’s last three games due to illness. Finally, it also looks like Lavia will need to be monitored after being taken off the pitch at half-time against Tottenham, suffering from hamstring pain.

With the Belgian midfielder likely to miss out, Maresca will have to find another way to set up his side, moving his Chelsea puzzle around and bringing his best available players into the squad.

How Chelsea can fill the Romeo Lavia void

Maresca marked the defender Marc Cucurella as very “important“In the past for his Chelsea side, and with Lavia missing, the Italian is likely to use the Spaniard to configure his squad properly, setting up the platforms for the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer to get the best out of them.”

The versatility of Cucurella, who may have been quite “embarrassing” in the words of Jamie Carragher against Spurs last weekend, it allows Maresca to shift him into wide central defender positions, as we’ve often seen this season, playing on the left of a back three in possession – but also to rotate into the middle both deeper and more advanced.

Against Brentford, the full-back is likely to turn past Kaicedo. In turn, this will allow Fernandez to advance into the left half, receive the ball and dictate the play from this zone, where he has had tremendous success in recent weeks, scored three goals and recorded three assists in the last five. Cucurella provides additional stability alongside Caicedo to cover Fernandez’s defensive qualities, has similar rebounding numbers to Lavia.

Not only does the Euro 2024 winner bring the tenacity off the ball needed to maintain pressure in those central areas, but he also has the quality on the ball that Lavia can provide, making 3.46 progressive passes per 90 and 1.15 progressive transfers per 90.

Maresca can balance the squad in Lavia’s absence with Cucurella’s utility turning midfield, allowing everyone to still occupy their best attacking zones and the Blues to stifle Brentford in their own half, be aggressive off the ball and counter-press with high intensity.