Maresca team news hint, Lavia vs Disasi – Five things spotted in Chelsea training before Gent clash
Enzo Maresca has been putting his players through their paces at Cobham training ground ahead of Chelsea's clash against Gent. The Blues will lock horns with the Belgian outfit at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as both sides look to get off to a winning start in the new-look UEFA Conference League campaign.
Chelsea stormed past Brighton at the weekend, with Cole Palmer netting all four in a 4-2 win. Unfortunately for the West Londoners, though, they'll be without the former Manchester City midfielder, who's not registered to feature in the competition.
Maresca will also be without Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana, whose minutes are being managed, as well as Reece James due to injury. So, with that being said, football.london have rounded up what you might have missed in training as Chelsea prepare to face Gent.
New training gear on show
The Blues debuted their new bright pink training gear on Wednesday afternoon as they stepped up preparations for the Gent clash. This colourway will continue to be exclusively worn during training sessions ahead of Conference League matches.
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Lavia slaps Disasi
During what was a productive afternoon at Cobham, Romeo Lavia was spotted giving Axel Disasi a playful slap on the back of the head. The duo appeared to be enjoying a joke as they walked out to training before the former struck the latter.
Lavia took Disasi's hat off with the slap. The defender tried to level the scoring before accepting defeat when the midfielder scurried away.
Maresca works with Casadei
Maresca was spotted working closely with Cesare Casadei ahead of the Gent clash, suggesting that he could start on Thursday night. The 21-year-old midfielder briefly played for the former Leicester City boss at the King Power Stadium in the Championship last season.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Conference League tie, Casadei revealed that he decided to stay at Chelsea because he wants to force himself into Maresca's plans. The youngster was heavily linked with an exit on loan in the summer, but he snubbed interest in favour of the Blues.
"To be honest at the start of this season I was thinking about what was the best solution for me," said Casadei. "I think last season was quite difficult, especially the last six months, because I didn’t play a lot. I was not really happy, because everyone wants game time.
"But from the moment I spoke to the manager I was 100% sure that the decision to stay was best for me to improve and for my career. I didn’t want to go permanently.
"There were some possible loans. But I have always wanted to play for Chelsea. We are one of the biggest teams in the world so I could not be more proud to play for Chelsea."
Chilwell gets involved
Ben Chilwell was involved in training despite not being registered for the competition. Speaking to reporters ahead of the clash, Maresca was asked whether he regrets not signing the 27-year-old defender up for the Conference League.
"No, I don't think so. No," replied the Chelsea boss. Chilwell has struggled to impress for a while now and he faces an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge.
Madueke takes on Palmer
During a brief intermission between drills, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer went head-to-head. Not literally, of course! Madueke was spotted trying to take on Palmer in a light-hearted one-versus-one – and he eventually wriggled away with the ball.