Enzo Maresca is planning to play midfield trio against Leicester who have not started together before

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Chelsea are back after the international break with a trip to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City this weekend.

Chelsea play away at Leicester on Saturday afternoon as Premier League football returns. Hopefully, the Blues can make a winning start as they enter an extremely busy festive schedule.

There’s some Chelsea individuals that will be returning to very familiar surroundings on Saturday, including Enzo Maresca. The former Leicester City manager will be taking on the Foxes for the first time since he left them and made the move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Elsewhere, Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is returning to face his boyhood club. Dewsbury-Hall admits he won’t celebrate if he scores versus Leicester.

• READ MORE: The reaction Leicester City fans are likely to give Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca when he returns on Saturday

Enzo Maresca considering untested Chelsea midfield combination vs Leicester

Journalist Simon Phillips reports via Substack what he’s heard from sources about Chelsea’s training preparations for the upcoming Leicester fixture.

He’s explained that the Blues have been running through tactics and looking at a potential midfield trio of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Christopher Nkunku to face the Foxes. So, could this new-look combination take to the field in a few days time?

Alternatively, Maresca’s side have looked at setting up with Joao Felix and Nkunku as two 8s in front of Caicedo as the sole defensive midfielder. This one is a system that’s been trialed in the Conference League already this season.

There’s always the unknown of how players will return fitness-wise from international duty, so let’s wait and see if any of Maresca’s planning is put into practice on the weekend.

Chelsea’s recent success has been with a pretty settled midfield. Caicedo and Romeo Lavia has been the double pivot, while Cole Palmer has slotted in front of them as a No.10.

However, Lavia returned early from international duty with a suspected injury, so perhaps the Blues will be forced into a change against Leicester.

Enzo Fernandez for Romeo Lavia is a straight swap

If Lavia is unavailable to face Leicester, should it result in such drastic changes to the midfield structure?

In theory, Fernandez could replace Lavia in the central midfield area without disrupting the rest of the side.

Argentine media raved about Fernandez’s latest display for his country as he helped Argentina beat Peru 1-0 last night. It now feels like the a massive opportunity to come back to Chelsea and force his way back into the starting line-up after some recent time on the bench.

In terms of Nkunku coming into the XI, it seems unnecessary because Palmer is thriving as the central playmaker and there’s little point shifting him out wide when there’s so many in-form wingers at the club.