Chelsea host Everton on Saturday afternoon in a crucial game, and head coach Enzo Maresca has received a fitness boost ahead of the Premier League fixture.
Chelsea are one of the clubs involved in a fascinating race to see who qualifies for next season’s Champions League.
The Blues currently sit in sixth spot in the Premier League table with five matches remaining, but only the top five teams will secure Champions League qualification.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 75 | 31 | 44 | 79 | |
| 2 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 63 | 29 | 34 | 67 | |
| 3 | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 43 | 23 | 61 | |
| 4 | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 53 | 39 | 14 | 60 | |
| 5 | 33 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 62 | 44 | 18 | 59 | |
| 6 | 33 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 57 | |
| 7 | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 54 | 49 | 5 | 57 |
On paper, Chelsea have an extremely tough set of fixtures to finish the league season. It’s what makes this weekend’s home clash against 13th-placed Everton even more significant.
Incidentally, Enzo Maresca has a touchline ban against Everton after picking up his third booking of the campaign in the recent 2-1 win over Fulham.
- Premier League
-
ChelseaChelsea
EvertonEverton
-
- Premier League
-
ChelseaChelsea
LiverpoolLiverpool
-
- Premier League
-
NewcastleNewcastle
ChelseaChelsea
-
- Premier League
-
ChelseaChelsea
Man UtdManchester United
-
- Premier League
-
Nottm ForestNottingham Forest
ChelseaChelsea
-

Romeo Lavia is expected to play against Everton
Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, 21, hasn’t played since mid-March because of a thigh injury. However, he’s tipped to make a return to play in Saturday afternoon’s clash at home to Everton.
According to The Daily Mail, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is expected to give Lavia his first minutes since 16 March in the Everton fixture, most likely as a substitute.
It is explained that the Blues have been treating the Belgian midfielder with caution because of his frequent injury interruptions.
The report claims that Lavia trained fully at Cobham without any issues in what’s a big update.
Even though Lavia hasn’t been able to build any momentum in his first two seasons at Chelsea because of various injury problems, it’s pretty evident he’s an outstanding talent when he’s on the football pitch. Therefore, fans will hope he can get them over the line to qualify for the Champions League in the next month.
Back in January, Chelsea captain Reece James called Romeo Lavia “amazing” because he’s so good when he does play.
The deep-lying defensive midfielder is so influential both in and out of possession. If he’s fully fit, we’d argue he starts in Chelsea’s best XI.

Romeo Lavia’s injury nightmare at Chelsea
It’s not worked out yet for Lavia since he joined Chelsea from Southampton, solely due to the fact he can’t keep himself fit for long enough.
| Season | Injury | From | To | Days missed | Games missed |
| 24/25 | Thigh | 17 March 2025 | 18 April 2025 | 33 | 5 |
| 24/25 | Hamstring | 16 January 2025 | 7 March 2025 | 51 | 8 |
| 24/25 | Hamstring | 9 December 2024 | 7 January 2025 | 30 | 7 |
| 24/25 | Hamstring | 23 August 2024 | 15 September 2024 | 24 | 4 |
| 23/24 | Hamstring | 28 December 2023 | 30 June 2024 | 168 | 28 |
| 23/24 | Fitness | 13 November 2023 | 18 December 2023 | 36 | 5 |
| 23/24 | Ankle | 17 September 2023 | 12 November 2023 | 57 | 10 |
| 23/24 | Muscle tear | 8 September 2023 | 14 September 2023 | 7 | – |
Fans are extremely frustrated that Lavia’s only played 14 first-team matches for them across nearly two seasons. As for the player, he must be even more distraught.
Paul Merson claims Chelsea really miss Romeo Lavia when he’s not on the football pitch because of the control he brings.
The encouraging news is that he’s back to help the Blues for the business end of this season, but the fear of him picking up another injury must be in the back of everyone’s mind.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
