Chelsea: Enzo Maresca to ring changes in Club World Cup quarter-final clash as key midfielder banned | OneFootball

Seven Chelsea stars are at risk of suspension ahead of a potential semi-final outing

Your matchday briefing on Chelsea, featuring team news and expert analysis from Malik Ouzia

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Enzo Maresca will be forced to refresh his Chelsea lineup ahead of the Club World Cup final after Moises Caicedo was handed a one-match ban.

Chelsea confirmed their progression to the next round in the small hours of Sunday morning, downing Benfica 4-1 after extra time to set up a quarter-final meeting with Palmeiras.

He may be grateful for the rest after appearing to have picked up a knock early in the match, but Chelsea could struggle without the £100million man marshalling the midfield.

His absence could open the door for the highly-rated Andrey Santos to make his full debut, though. The Brazilian rejoined Chelsea ahead of the tournament following a loan spell at Strasbourg, but has played just 23 minutes so far.

The Blues will be boosted in the quarter-finals, however, by the return of Nicolas Jackson. The Senegalese striker was sent off for a rash studs-up tackle mere minutes after his introduction in the second half of Chelsea’s 3-1 group stage loss to Flamengo.

He saw his ban upgraded from one match to two, leaving him sidelined for a final group tie against ES Tunis and the Benfica clash, with Liam Delap impressing in his absence.

Seven other members of Maresca’s squad could be suspended for the semi-final should they pick up a booking against Palmeiras.

Chief among them is Cole Palmer, who has impressed in the United States despite failing to find the back of the net in three appearances. He was booked for his involvement in the fallout which followed Gianluca Prestianni’s red card.

Maresca could be forced into more attacking changes for the semi-final, too, as Delap and Pedro Neto are both one caution away from bans.

There could be a greater crisis in defence, where Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Reece James could all miss the semi-final with a yellow card against Palmeiras.