‘Difference-maker’ now spotted in Chelsea training after missing Liverpool game

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Enzo Maresca will change his Chelsea attack for Thursday’s Conference League game, and that could see one fringe player make a start.

Cole Palmer has not been registered for this stage of the competition, meaning that Enzo Maresca will have to make at least one change to his forward line.

However, you would expect him to rotate all of his attackers, as that is what the 44-year-old has done in the Conference League and Carabao Cup so far.

It is good news for the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix, who did not play against Liverpool last Sunday. Pat Nevin was disappointed not to see Felix come on at Anfield.

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Mykhailo Mudryk training at Cobham

Mudryk was left out of Chelsea‘s matchday squad altogether for the Liverpool game, but he is likely to get a run out against Panathinaikos on Thursday.

According to journalist Bobby Vincent, the 23-year-old trained at Cobham on Tuesday, so there are clearly not any injury problems.

Maresca’s decision to leave Mudryk out last weekend was probably just a technical one. But it could happen again in the Premier League.

The Chelsea manager is obviously not short in the wide areas, possessing the likes of Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke.

Should Mykhailo Mudryk start against Panathinaikos?

Having not even made the bench at Anfield, it is only fair. Sancho did not have his best game either, being hooked off at half-time, so Mudryk deserves a chance on Thursday.

At this level, the Ukrainian should be able to make an impact. Shakhtar Donetsk general director Sergiy Palkin would back him to.

“He is an absolute difference-maker,” Palkin said when discussing Mudryk in a recent interview.

Chelsea supporters have barely seen that from Mudryk since his arrival from Shakhtar in 2023.

Last season, the Ukraine international could only score five goals in 31 Premier League appearances. The Blues invested a lot of money in Mudryk, though, and will not want to give up on him yet. The club will be hoping that he can use the Conference League as a platform to discover his best form.