“No, no, no” – Maresca emphatically addresses big question ahead of Leicester clash | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has addressed whether he will rest Moises Caicedo this weekend despite the midfielder being one booking away from a two match ban.

Caicedo played the first half of the 2-1 win away at Copenhagen in the Conference League on Thursday night, but is walking a tightrope in the Premier League.

The Blues host Leicester on Sunday looking to make it three wins in a row in all competitions before they travel to Arsenal next weekend in the last game before the international break.

Maresca on Caicedo playing against Leicester

Caicedo has been one of Chelsea’s best performers this season, and arguably been the best midfielder in the Premier League.

Jason Cundy believes the Ecuador international is more important to Chelsea than Cole Palmer, and he’s arguably the only player the Blues don’t have a replacement for.

However, the 23-year-old will miss games against Arsenal and Tottenham if he picks up his tenth booking of the season against the Foxes.

Given Leicester’s struggles it would make sense to rest Caicedo to ensure he’s available for the game against Arsenal.

Caicedo is one booking away from a two match ban. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Maresca was asked this very question after the the win against Copenhagen and was emphatic in his response.

“No, no, no,” he said as quoted by Give Me Sport.

“I know that [my staff] said this to me, but at this moment for us, it’s about winning games. We need to win games, so we cannot plan on giving Moi a rest thinking that he can play Arsenal.

“We need to win against Leicester and then we need to focus on how we can beat Arsenal. It’s just game by game, and we need our best players on the pitch.

“The position of Moises, if you see his background, last year he had 11-12 yellow cards, the year before the same, because he’s a midfielder.

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“You are in the traffic. Sometimes you have to make some fouls. It’s normal. Hopefully, he can avoid that until the end, knowing that it’s probably difficult.”

If Caicedo does get booked, Chelsea do have Reece James who can play in midfield, whilst Romeo Lavia is also back in training.