Noni Madueke drops early Chelsea team news hint as Enzo Maresca reveals new Cole Palmer plan

Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo have dropped an early team news hint ahead of Chelsea's match-up against Manchester United. The Blues will lock horns with the Red Devils at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon (4.30pm) as both sides hope to climb the Premier League table.

Chelsea will be determined to return to winning ways after crashing out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. The west Londoners were edged out 2-1 by Newcastle United at St. James' Park, while United enjoyed a 5-2 victory over Leicester City, booking themselves a place in the quarter-finals.

While Maresca has been putting his players through their paces, on the training pitches at Cobham, the Red Devils wrapped up a deal for Ruben Amorim to replace Erik ten Hag as head coach. The 39-year-old doesn't set foot under the table at Carrington until November 11, but the United squad will be eager to impress in the meantime.

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

Speaking with reporters ahead of the heavyweight clash, Maresca revealed that he plans to field Cole Palmer and Joao Felix as duel number 10s one day. The Chelsea head coach said: "I think in this moment, Romeo [Lavia] and Moi [Caicedo] give us physicality and strength in the middle.

"This is the reason why we found the option of Malo in the pocket. Otherwise, if we play with Enzo, it has to be Enzo - and one between Moi and Romeo and when Enzo moves - we probably struggle in the middle in terms of physicality.

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"It doesn't mean in one game we cannot play with Cole and Joao in the pocket. It depends on the game. Probably soon we are going to see Joao and Cole together in that pocket with a striker. It's always the game that requires a different plan."

Then, on Nicolas Jackson, who's enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, Maresca added: "Very happy. First of all, Nicolas is helping us not only in terms of numbers but he is also helping us in terms of the way we want to play; the way he links with his teammates.

"He is helping us a lot in the processes. Every time he drops, he gives us an extra man. We saw against Newcastle, when he drops he is causing problems. When he attacks in behind, he is quick and he can score goals. We are very happy and we are trying to work with him in different areas and one of the areas is when he drops, what he has to do."

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