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Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo drop Chelsea team news hint as Enzo Maresca confirms injury blow

Moisés Caicedo of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Crystal Palace FC at Stamford Bridge on September 01, 2024
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)


Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo have dropped an early team news hint ahead of Chelsea's clash against Brighton. The Blues will lock horns with the Seagulls at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as either side look to climb the Premier League table.

Chelsea head into the tie with a skip in their step after putting five past Barrow in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday evening. Since losing to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the new season, the west Londoners have enjoyed a seven-game unbeaten streak, winning six and drawing once.

As for Brighton, they'll be eager to return to winning ways after they were held to a 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium by Nottingham Forest last weekend. Nevertheless, Madueke and Caicedo have posted pre-match graphic previews of the Seagulls fixture to their respective Instagram stories.

Historically, this suggests that the duo will be involved in some capacity. One player who won't feature against Brighton is Reece James; speaking to reporters ahead of the match, Maresca provided an injury update.

When asked if Romeo Lavia is still out, the Italian claimed that Chelsea – almost – have a clean bill of health. He replied: "No. Romeo is available for tomorrow. The only one who isn't available is Reece [James]."

Maresca was then asked if the 20-year-old midfielder is fit enough to start. Keeping his cards close to his chest, he said: "We will see. We will see. We have one more session and then we will decide, but the important is that he is finally back."

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Later in the pre-match press conference, Maresca was also quizzed on Fabian Hurzeler and how he's started life on the south coast. The Blues boss said: "Fantastic. He is doing a fantastic job. I also watched some games from last year where he was in Germany.

"You can clearly see the idea. When you join a club where the previous manager more or less has the same idea, it helps a lot. My big friend [Roberto] De Zerbi was there so they have continued also with the same style and that is something that helps a lot."

With that being said, Maresca will be relying on the likes of Madueke and Caicedo to step up and fire Chelsea to victory. While numerous players will have posted pre-match previews of the Brighton game to their Instagram stories before kick-off, it does not necessarily mean they will definitely start.