Assignments do not come a lot trickier for Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on his Premier League bow.

The Italian faces up towards a person with whom he is very acquainted in Pep Guardiola. A former Metropolis assistant, Maresca guided Leicester again into the highest tier final season and was courted by the Blues after the membership parted methods with Mauricio Pochettino following only a mere marketing campaign collectively.

Maresca’s begin has been removed from plain crusing with an unproductive pre-season failing to enamour a demanding fanbase. “My recommendation is to offer him time and it’ll work,” Guardiola mentioned of the Italian forward of Sunday’s recreation. Endurance is a dwindling trait at the moment, nevertheless.

The upcoming duel is not going to outline Maresca’s stint in west London, however it could effectively set the tone. Some would possibly say that is the perfect time to face Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens, particularly on condition that the guests are with out lynchpin Rodri in the course of the park, however Chelsea nonetheless have an enormous job on their arms in the event that they’re to begin the 2024/25 season in constructive style.

Listed here are 4 key battles that can determine Sunday’s conflict on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

The back-to-back Golden Boot winner heads into 2024/25 off the again of a productive season, and Haaland had specific pleasure towards Chelsea’s porous backline in the summertime.

The Norwegian netted a hat-trick as Metropolis thumped the Blues 4-2 throughout the pond.

Haaland scored twice at Stamford Bridge in an exciting 4-4 draw final season, however canny field defending on the Etihad ensured Chelsea restricted the Nordic purpose machine within the reverse fixture. Whereas Metropolis are poised to pen in and suffocate their opponents on Sunday, Chelsea will at the very least make an try to impose themselves through an aggressive line of defense.

Maresca’s strategy towards Metropolis will seemingly teeter on the courageous/suicidal continuum. A scarcity of stress on the ball larger up the pitch uncovered Chelsea’s line of defense in pre-season, and Haaland will probably be licking his lips if he faces up towards a equally dysfunctional aspect with out the ball this weekend.

Whereas Chelsea may deploy a few spectacular restoration defenders in Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo, they’re asking for bother ought to they permit Haaland to run in behind at will given his proficiency in one-on-one conditions.

It was a reasonably subdued pre-season for Palmer off the again of his Euro 2024 exploits, however Chelsea’s 2023/24 hero needs to be prepared for motion on Sunday having appeared within the Blues’ last pleasant of the summer time towards Inter.

The Englishman will probably be anticipated to function down the suitable in Maresca’s 3-2-5 possesion construction that can hand him loads of freedom to float infield. Thus, Palmer is expcted to see an array of Metropolis defenders on the Bridge, however Gvardiol, specifically, could also be tasked with restricted Chelsea’s star man.

The Croatian worldwide had a little bit of a nightmare within the corresponding fixture final season, however he got here on robust down the stretch to play a key position in Metropolis’s title triumph. He blossomed as an adventurous left-back for Guardiola, and we will solely assume he’ll resume this position to begin 2024/25.

Whereas Maresca will intention to scale back Chelsea’s reliance on Palmer, the playmaker’s relentless willingness to make issues occur means a concerted effort should be made by the guests to tame him.

Going the opposite approach, Gvardiol will search to benefit from Palmer’s flaws with out the ball.

It was an extremely irritating debut season for Nkunku, who spent a lot of it on the sidelines.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman loved an injury-free summer time and appears set to play a giant position throughout Maresca’s maiden marketing campaign on the helm. The Italian has the choice of utilising Nkunku as a false 9 or a quantity ten towards Metropolis. Both approach, the previous RB Leipzig star will spend a lot of the afternoon working between the traces.

In Rodri’s absence, that is an space Chelsea ought to have some pleasure. The Spaniard, merely put, is irreplaceable. Guardiola will seemingly flip to Mateo Kovacic on the base of midfield, perhaps even Rico Lewis, however no various will be capable to provide Rodri’s all-encompassing safety.

He’ll be an enormous miss, and the canny Nkunku, in tandem with Palmer, is greatest positioned to take benefit.

We’re uncertain as to what midfield configuration the brand new Chelsea boss will go for, however the Blues are more likely to press in a 4-4-2. Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Kiernan Dewsbury-Corridor and Romeo Lavia are among the many choices for Maresca.

Whoever is deployed in the course of the park may have the unenviable job of stopping Metropolis’s superstars from wreaking havoc within the half-spaces. Phil Foden is a grasp on the half-turn, whereas Kevin De Bruyne has made a profession out of delivering from the suitable inside channel.

Chelsea’s defensive points in pre-season stemmed from a scarcity of dependable ball stress larger up the sector, and if Metropolis are in a position to relentlessly entry their star playmakers in harmful positions behind Chelsea’s midfield, the hosts don’t have any probability of protecting the rating down.

De Bruyne, in what might be his final dance in Manchester, may get pleasure from a productive afternoon to kick-off 2024/25.

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