Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke drop early Chelsea team news hint as Joao Felix role revealed

Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke have dropped an early team news hint ahead of Chelsea's clash against Leicester City. Enzo Maresca will return to his old stomping ground on Saturday afternoon, facing the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.

Before the international break, the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal, meanwhile, Manchester United put three past the Foxes. As the congested festive fixture schedule approaches, Chelsea will be looking to establish some breathing space in the race for top four while the home side distance themselves from a relegation scrap.

Nevertheless, Fernandez and Madueke have posted pre-match graphic previews of the Leicester City fixture to their respective Instagram stories. Historically, this suggests that the duo will be involved in some capacity.

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Robert Sanchez has done the same, hinting that he too will start against Steve Cooper's side. Nevertheless, speaking to reporters ahead of the clash, Maresca was quizzed on the possibility of playing Joao Felix alongside Cole Palmer.

"Yeah, this could be a target for the future; to see both of them playing together," said the Blues boss. "International break is good, first of all for the ones that don't go with their international teams so they can recover and for the ones that do go, some of them, like Joao, did fantastic.

"But, Joao is doing well with us since day one. The only problem is trying to find balance when we are trying to prepare the game. For us, for all of the clubs, there is always a little bit of doubt because we do not know how they are going to come back.

"As I said, today is the first session - 48 hours before the game - that we worked with 12, 13, 14 players that were with internationals. Some of them came back this morning from Argentina, from South America, so it is not easy. We will see. We still have 48 hours."

Then, on returning to the King Power Stadium, Maresca said: "First of all, excited and also thankful because it was a fantastic season. I met people that are very difficult to find in football; the owner, his family, they are fantastic human beings.

"They care for the players, the staff, all of the people who work inside the club. You can see that. It was a fantastic season because I met good people and then in terms of players, it was top, it was fantastic.

"It was a fantastic connection between the players and the staff. This is something you need to create and I will be thankful for all of my life to that squad. Most of them, I am still in contact with them so there is still a connection. For me, it was a fantastic season."

With that being said, Maresca will be relying on the likes of Fernandez and Madueke to step up and fire Chelsea to victory. While a few players have posted pre-match previews of the Leicester City game to their Instagram stories, it does not necessarily mean they will definitely start or, at the very least, play.