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Enzo Maresca is facing a bit of an injury crisis at Chelsea at the moment, with the head coach missing seven players through fitness issues ahead of Saturday evening's Premier League clash with Liverpool.
The reigning champions, who are still top of the league despite being beaten for the first time this season at Crystal Palace over the weekend, come to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening in a crucial match for both sides. Chelsea are without a win in the Premier League since beating Fulham before the most recent international break - with the Blues losing two and drawing one of their last three matches in the competition.
When Saturday comes around, Maresca will be without Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap due to injuries, while Wesley Fofana is also missing as he follows the concussion protocol. Trevoh Chalobah, meanwhile, is unavailable as he will serve his one-match suspension following his red card against Brighton last weekend.
"Very difficult, very difficult, very hard, very difficult," said Maresca, when asked about the injury situation following Chelsea's win against Benfica. "Again, because the ones that they play, there is a big risk that they can get injured because they are the ones that are playing a lot.
"For instance, we lost Andrey Santos against Brighton, who will be out until after the international break. We have seven or eight players out unfortunately for us in this moment.
"So it is difficult because also we struggled to repeat the same XI, but it is what it is. We need to adapt and try to win games. That is why it was so important tonight to win and also was the other day important, but unfortunately we did not win. Now we focus on Saturday."
There is a big boost for Maresca now, though, with Santos and Joao Pedro both being left out of the Brazil squad for the upcoming international break. Estevao Willian has been included in Carlo Ancelotti's squad, but Maresca will be particularly pleased given the fitness issues Santos and Joao Pedro have had in recent weeks.
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Ever since the last international break, both have been struggling with their fitness. Particularly Joao Pedro, who has featured in five of Chelsea's six matches since the break, but has not been 100% fit. Santos, meanwhile, missed Tuesday evening's Champions League game through an injury.
Joao Pedro is expected to be fit for Saturday's match with Liverpool, while Santos is set to sit out. Reds boss Arne Slot, too, has his own injury problems, with goalkeeper Alisson Becker suffering a hamstring issue in Tuesday's defeat away at Galatasaray.
Alisson will miss the trip to Stamford Bridge, with newly-signed understudy Giorgi Mamardashvili expected to come into the XI. Hugo Ekitike left the field in Turkey holding his hamstring and will face a late fitness test ahead of Saturday, while young defender Geovanni Leoni is set to miss the rest of the season.
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