Maresca could fix Lavia hole by unleashing “very important” Chelsea star

Chelsea have the chance to close the gap between themselves and Liverpool in the Premier League table to just two points with a win against Brentford, which would also move them four points ahead of third-place Arsenal.

Enzo Maresca continues to say Chelsea are not in a title race, but a victory against the Bees would make it very hard for him to continue with these notions. Chelsea are averaging the fourth-highest possession in the league this season with 56.4%, are taking 15.3 shots per game (fourth most again), and are only conceding 11.6 shots per game (sixth fewest in the division).

However, the Italian will be fully focused on going one game at a time, with this game against Brentford being treated the same as any other, which could include some more tactical tweaks, especially in the absence of Roméo Lavia.

Chelsea team news pre-Brentford

Three players who will certainly be out for the Blues are Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Pedro Neto. James and Fofana both missing through injury, whilst Neto is suspended after picking up six yellow cards in the Premier League.

Mykhailo Mudryk is another who possibly won’t be involved, as he has missed Chelsea’s last three games, being out through illness. Lastly, it also seems Lavia will have to be monitored after being taken off at half-time against Tottenham, suffering from hamstring pain.

With the Belgian midfielder likely to miss out, Maresca will have to find another way to set his side up, moving his Chelsea jigsaw around and getting his best available players into the team.

How Chelsea can fill the Romeo Lavia void

Maresca has labelled defender Marc Cucurella as very “important” in the past for his Chelsea side, and with Lavia missing, the Italian will likely use the Spaniard to configure his team appropriately, platforming the likes of Enzo Fernández, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer in order to get the best from them.

The versatility of Cucurella, who perhaps was rather “embarrassing” in the words of Jamie Carragher against Spurs last weekend, allows Maresca to move him into wide central defender positions, as we have seen often this season, playing on the left of a back three in possession – but also invert into midfield at both deeper and more advanced heights.

Against Brentford, the full-back will likely invert alongside Caicedo. In turn, this will allow Fernandez to advance into the left half-space, receive the ball and dictate play from this zone, where he has found immense success in recent weeks, scoring three goals and registering three assists in his last five. Cucurella provides extra stability alongside Caicedo to cover Fernandez’s defensive qualities, having similar recovery numbers to Lavia.

Not only does the Euro 2024 winner bring the off-ball tenacity needed to sustain pressure in those central areas, but he also has the on-ball qualities that Lavia can provide, making 3.46 progressive passes per 90 and 1.15 progressive carries per 90.

Maresca can balance the team in Lavia’s absence with the utility of Cucurella inverting into midfield, allowing everyone to still occupy their best-attacking zones, and the Blues to suffocate Brentford in their own half, being aggressive off the ball, and counter-pressing with high intensity.