With Cucurella suspended, Chelsea faces lineup challenges ahead of their match against Everton, impacting their strategy and player roles.
London: So, Marc Cucurella got sent off last weekend against Brentford, and now Chelsea’s coach, Enzo Maresca, has a bit of a puzzle to solve before the game against Everton.
He picked up a second yellow card after the match, which means he’s out for this one. Plus, Reece James is still nursing a hamstring injury, so the team is a bit thin on full-backs.
Now, Maresca has to figure out who will step in. One option is Renato Veiga. He’s been mostly playing in the Conference League but could slot right into Cucurella’s spot at left-back.
Veiga is pretty versatile; he can play in midfield or even at center-back, but he’s been mostly on the left side. He’s only started one league game so far, but he’s shown promise in Europe.
Another idea is to shift Malo Gusto over to left-back. He usually plays on the right but did it before when Chelsea faced Liverpool. This would let Moises Caicedo take the right-back role, which he did well in a recent match.
But whether that works depends on if Romeo Lavia is fit to come back into midfield after a little injury.
Then there’s the wildcard, Josh Acheampong. He’s a young talent who had some contract issues earlier but is back in the mix now. He could be a surprise pick if they need him.