Chelsea to welcome back three key players for Manchester United after Enzo Maresca admission

Chelsea are set to welcome back trio Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia for Sunday's Premier League showdown against Manchester United.

The Blues were beaten in midweek at Newcastle United and the three players, who have all struggled with consistent injury problems in recent seasons, were left at home. They all started and featured heavily in Chelsea's win versus the Magpies just a few days before and Enzo Maresca said last month that the three of them are on similar programmes as the club look to find a solution for their injury problems.

Speaking on October 18, Maresca said this on James: "It is complicated when you get injury, injury, injury again. It is not easy so you are always looking for a solution.

"Probably the solution with Reece is the same solution we are using with Romeo and Wes in terms of using them just once a week, in one game, because probably in this moment, for different reasons, Reece's body cannot play twice a week. One of the solutions is probably to try and manage him in the same way we are doing with Wes and Romeo."

However, when Chelsea make the trip up to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United this weekend, Maresca is expected to welcome all three of them back to the starting line-up. After a not-so-great performance in midweek, those involved with Chelsea's 'B team' do not have much of a leg to stand on regarding a starting place on Sunday.

James is expected to return to the side, but it is yet to be seen what Maresca does with his full-backs. Last Sunday, the Chelsea captain started as a left-back with Malo Gusto on the other side - but he could do the opposite in Manchester.

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Fofana and Lavia's positions, however, are a lot more set in stone. The former is expected to partner Levi Colwill at the heart of the Blues' back four while Lavia will sit in front of the defence alongside Moises Caicedo.

Asked to explain why Lavia and Caicedo are his favoured duo at the moment, instead of Enzo Fernandez, Maresca said this on Friday afternoon: "First of all, it is a matter of balance. I think in this moment, Romeo and Moi 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 more between Moi and Romeo and when Enzo moves, we probably struggle in the middle in terms of physicality.

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

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