Chelsea: Enzo Maresca faces Club World Cup selection dilemma as six stars face suspension | OneFootball

The Blues progression to the knockout stage is not yet confirmed ahead of a final group stage tie

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He will return for the round of 16, should Chelsea make it that far. They require at least a draw against Tunis to progress and face elimination with a loss.

If they do move on, though, Maresca may be forced to work without several key players.

Seeing red: Nicolas Jackson

REUTERS

The Club World Cup features stringent discipline rules. In keeping with FIFA regulations, a player will be handed a one-match suspension after being shown two yellow cards before the quarter-final stage.

That leaves six members of Chelsea’s squad facing suspension if they pick up a booking in the Tunis clash.

Chief among them is the new arrival Liam Delap, whose name was taken by the referee as he made his full debut in last week’s 3-1 loss to Flamengo.

Delap has publicly spoken about his preference towards a physical play style, and recorded the joint-most bookings in the Premier League last season (12), equal with Fulham’s Sasa Lukic and Southampton’s Flynn Downes.

He is, however, aware that he must keep his physicality in check, saying on Monday: “I love those battles, I always have since I was a kid. I really love the aggressive side of it and the competitive nature of the sport. It’s got to be controlled at times but it’s my game ultimately.”

Also one booking away from a suspension are the full-back pairing of Marc Cucurella and Reece James, as well as centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo.

So too are Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto, who scored Chelsea’s first Club World Cup goal.

Enforced suspensions for any of the above could open the door for some Chelsea debuts.

Midfielder Dario Essugo, who joined from Sporting CP earlier this summer, made a brief cameo against LAFC, but is yet to be named in one of Maresca’s starting lineups. The highly rated former Strasbourg pair of Andrey Santos and Mamadou Sarr are yet to appear in Chelsea blue and could also stand to deputise.

Tunis have already seen one player fall foul of the yellow card line in Youcef Belaïli. He was the goalscorer in their 1-0 win over LAFC last week, but, will now miss the pivotal Chelsea clash after being booked in both of his Club World Cup appearances.

Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov is also one booking away from a ban, and could miss the round of 16 if he is booked against Juventus on Thursday.