Enzo Maresca has confirmed Romeo Lavia is ready to start against Liverpool on Saturday evening in what would be just his second appearance of the season.
The 21-year-old midfielder has been riddled with injuries since signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2023. Lavia made just 20 appearances in all competitions last season – which was a drastic improvement on his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge where he featured just once.
The Belgian was absent for the first seven games of this season but returned against Brighton last weekend. Lavia was introduced with around 11 minutes of normal time remaining in SW6 as Chelsea slumped to a 3-1 defeat.
He did not feature in the week as the Blues narrowly beat Benfica by a goal to nil despite being named on the bench. Maresca, though, believes Lavia is ready to start Saturday evening’s showdown with champions Liverpool, who incidentally tried to sign the former Southampton midfielder before he eventually switched to Chelsea instead.
“Romeo is ready to play. With Romeo, we are trying to do exactly the same that we have done with Wes [Fofana] and with Reece [James],” Maresca said on Friday morning when asked by football.london about the Belgian midfielder. “Now we are in a much better position for both of them. Unfortunately, at this moment, Wes is out, but not for any physical problem. It’s just for the concussion against Lincoln.
“The target with Romeo is that we can help him and we can bring him in the same condition as Wes and Reece, where they can play games. As you can see now, Reece is playing more games without problems. Hopefully, we can do the same with Romeo.”
Trevoh Chalobah will be forced to sit out of Saturday’s fixture with the Chelsea defender serving his one-match suspension following his sending off against Brighton last week. Chalobah is unavailable, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill miss out through injuries, while Wesley Fofana is missing as he follows the protocol regarding the concussion he suffered against Lincoln City almost a fortnight ago.
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The only fit central defenders for the Blues are Josh Acheampong, Jorrel Hato and Benoit Badiashile. Whoever plays alongside each other at the heart of the defence against Liverpool, it will be Maresca’s sixth different centre-back partnership in 10 matches in all competitions this season.
“It is difficult,” said Maresca when asked about injuries affecting the rhythm at the back. “But at the same time we trust the ones that are here.
“For sure when you can always with the same true or you can change one after four or five games, it’s better. As much as [the more] you play together with teammates, the relationship becomes better. Sometimes you don’t even need to speak to do something on the pitch, they understand immediately.
“When you continue to change itās more difficult. But itās more difficult not just against Liverpool, but also against Brighton, against [Danny] Welbeck. After the red card we played with Josh and Hato. They are both potentially top defenders and are doing a great job for this club, no doubt. But probably together they have the same age as Welbeck.”
