Enzo Maresca handed major Chelsea blow as nightmare scenario emerges for Liverpool game

The latest Chelsea news as the Blues prepare to take on Liverpool after October's international break - but they must do so without Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea and Enzo Maresca have been handed a double blow ahead of his side's Premier League game against Liverpool after the international break with both Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella suspended for that match.

The Blues go into the second international break of the season on the back of a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. Chelsea came from behind thanks to Noni Madueke's goal, but were unable to find a winner despite Forest going down to 10 men for the final 12 minutes at Stamford Bridge.

The result leaves Maresca's team in fourth position in the table, three points behind Arsenal and Liverpool in third and second position. But Chelsea will have the chance to reduce that gap to Liverpool when they travel to Anfield on Sunday, October 20 for what is a mouth-watering showdown.

However, Chelsea will have to take on title hopefuls Liverpool without two members of the back-four who have started the majority of Premier League matches so far this season. The match against Forest saw both Fofana and Cucurella pick up their fifth bookings of the season.

It means that the duo face a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards. They will, therefore, be forced to watch that impending game against Liverpool from the stands.

Their suspensions leave a selection dilemma for Maresca, although he does have October's international break to assess his options. Tosin Adarabioyo and Renato Veiga played the whole 90 minutes of Thursday night's 4-2 UEFA Conference League clash against Gent - with the latter even getting his first goal for the club in that game.

READ MORE: What Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi did before Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest

READ MORE: Chelsea next five games compared with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City after 1-1 draw

They will both be pushing for a return to the starting XI, it seems. Adarabioyo, though, faces competition from the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi, while Ben Chilwell could potentially make a sensational return to the line-up to replace Cucurella after being frozen out at the start of the season.

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