Nicolas Jackson likely a doubt for Brentford game – but Maresca buoyant about team’s chances | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca was in an understandably positive move after Chelsea beat Tottenham on Thursday night.

It was a big win in the table, a big win for his relationship with the fans, and hopefully a springboard for the run in. The bad news for Chelsea is that they played on Thursday, meaning a short turnaround before their Sunday game against Brentford, who played 24 hours before us.

But instead of making excuses ahead of time, the manager spin spun positive, pointing out that his team would have built momentum from the win over Tottenham, even if they were a little tired by it:

“Every time you win, preparation for the next game is better,” Maresca said.

“Hopefully, from the Tottenham game we can build momentum knowing that every game will be difficult until the end. We need to recover energy and go again. For Sunday, it will be how we manage the tiredness. Brentford for sure will be a very tough game. You saw on Wednesday night they lost away at Newcastle, but it was a tough game. From now on, every game is going to be tough.”

The good news is that he has cards to play and changes he can make now he’s got some injured players back. We’re sure to see Reece James come into the team from the start after he was rested on Thursday, and Noni Madueke could also come back in.

Nicolas Jackson might also not be risked in a second game so soon after 3 months out.

Enzo Maresca to face deep block challenge once again

Enzo Maresca applauds the Chelsea fans.

Apart from that, we expect the coach to try and keep things pretty similar. The issue, as ever, will be breaking down the opposition when sit deep. Spurs obliged by playing very open, as is their wont, but Brentford will be a totally different proposition.

“In terms of performance, every game is different. Our performance against Tottenham was perhaps better than other performances, but I was also happy with other performances because I know how difficult it is when teams sit back.”