Chelsea have announced their travelling squad for this week’s European tie against Panathinaikos, with several first-team stars left back in England to rest.
Chelsea have landed in Greece ahead of Thursday’s away match against Panathinaikos in the group stages of the Conference League.
So far, Blues manager Enzo Maresca has rotated heavily between the Premier League and cup competitions. It looks like he’s about to do the same tomorrow evening, too.
Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol claimed via X last month that Chelsea’s owners believe they now have a squad capable of guiding them back to the top. In fairness, there’s come incredible depth when you look at every position right now at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea rest five players against Panathinaikos
There’s some very interesting team news ahead of Chelsea’s game versus Panathinaikos on Thursday.
The Blues have confirmed via their official website the 22-man squad that has travelled to Athens for the Conference League fixture.
Of course, Marcus Bettinelli, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer are absent and have stayed at home because they’re not registered for the European competition.
On top of that, Chelsea have left five first-team stars back in England to rest. It’s been confirmed that Levi Colwill, Moises Caicedo, Nicolas Jackson, Reece James and Malo Gusto have stayed back in England.
Clever management of the squad
We’re quite impressed by the way that Maresca has coped with the busy fixture schedule in the opening months of the season, which has been by rotating and keeping everybody involved.
It makes sense to give the likes of Colwill, Caicedo and Jackson the night off on Thursday, especially after their work during the recent international break with their respective countries. Meanwhile, James needs to be looked after carefully following his return from injury, while Gusto has played a lot of football already this season.
It’s still a very capable group that has travelled to Athens to take on Panathinaikos in the Conference League.
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