Chelsea return after the international break this weekend with a trip to Leicester City in the Premier League.
Chelsea are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they face Leicester at the King Power Stadium, which is a match that Enzo Maresca surely looked out for when the fixtures were released.
Maresca, 44, did a superb job as the Leicester manager last season guiding them to promotion from the Championship. However, he left the Foxes in the summer to become the Chelsea head coach at Stamford Bridge.
Leicester fans are expected to give Maresca a warm reception on his return this weekend.
Jason Cundy claims Noni Madueke will be super confident
TalkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy has picked out Chelsea star Noni Madueke, 22, ahead of the Leicester trip. He thinks that the right-winger will be supremely confident after his lift during the international break.
The left-footed attacker rejoins the Blues after making back-to-back starts with England during Nations League victories.
When discussing Chelsea and England winger Madueke, Cundy told talkSPORT: “I felt actually his England performances over the last two games have been better than Chelsea’s over the last two games.
“We can only benefit, the fact that he had good performances. You can imagine what his self esteem must feel right now. He must feel I’ve done it for England and had a big hand in the way we won… He must be coming back thinking show me Leicester.”
Darren Bent thinks Chelsea’s Madueke just took his England opportunity, so he’s given Thomas Tuchel something to think about when he takes charge as the Three Lions manager.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham praised Chelsea ace Madueke after England’s 5-0 demolition over the Republic of Ireland.
In terms of his club form, Madueke has done well with five goals in 13 games across all competitions this season. However, his form was dropping off prior to the international break.
Will Noni Madueke start against Leicester?
Madueke has started 10 out of 11 Premier League matches for Chelsea this season, emerging as a key figure on the right wing under Maresca. Therefore, it would be a fair guess that he’ll be in the XI versus Leicester.
It’s worth noting that Pedro Neto is quickly becoming an important figure in Chelsea’s attack, whether that’s on the left or right flank.
Cundy admits that he’d actually start Neto over Madueke this weekend against Chelsea on the right wing.
He stated in the talkSPORT video above: “Now the conversation goes back to Chelsea. Is Noni guaranteed a start on that right-hand side? I’m not sure he is. If you ask me now what I would do against Leicester, I’d play [Pedro] Neto on that right-hand side.”
It’ll be quite telling to see the starting line-up that Maresca goes with at Leicester because he’s had a two-week pause to think things over.
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