Chelsea have seen themselves struggle in front of goal recently primarily because of one key individual player being unavailable.
Nicolas Jackson has been absent since the start of February. He was forced off during the Blues’ win over West Ham alongside Marc Guiu. The Spaniard is also not back from that issue either.
It has not taken a genius to see Cole Palmer has been affected by absence of Jackson too. No goals in six league games is by far his longest drought in front of goal.
It remains to be seen if the England international is given a chance to bring that record to an end this week when Chelsea return to European action with the Conference League Round of 16.
The Blues will face Copenhagen away on Thursday, before hosting the same opposition at Stamford Bridge seven days later.
Palmer and Jackson are amongst the key Chelsea players who were not called upon during the group stage of the competition, however a number of individuals who started every game previously have now departed the club.
With Joao Felix struggling at AC Milan, there is a spot available in attack, with Maresca having some big decisions to make.
It is clear that Jackson will not feature in this tie, however he has posted an update regarding his status as Chelsea patiently await his return.
The Senegal international posted on his Instagram story that he was back working in the gym as he moves towards a return at Stamford Bridge.
It has previously been claimed that Jackson is likely to return after the international break, which comes after their next Premier League game against Leicester.
Enzo Maresca considers starting youngster up front vs Copenhagen
Depending on how much rotation the manager looks to do, there could be a great opportunity for an academy prospect to make their mark.
Shumaira Mheuka almost broke a record by becoming the quickest debutant to score in the Premier League when he came on against Southampton, and does have an appearance under his belt in the Conference League this season.
Goals have also been free flowing for Donnel McNeilly in the academy, and he has had to wait patiently for his chance to feature for the first team.
The Blues could well line up with Pedro Neto in the number nine role though, having performed well there in the last two Premier League games.
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