Maresca feels regret at Joao Felix’s lack of Premier League game time

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted he is struggling to keep all his talent happy ahead of their match against Leicester on Saturday.

The Blues first team squad page listed 43 players at the start of the season, with 10 players joining in the summer.

As a result, this has meant limited playing time for some of the club's senior players, such as Joao Felix, who is yet to start a Premier League game since joining permanently in the summer.

Despite this problem, Chelsea have started the season well and are currently third after eleven games, but Maresca feels a bit of regret at not being able to get everyone involved.

“I feel sorry for Joao and I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole.” [Palmer]Christo [Nkunku]” he said.

“I would like to put them all on the field, but then you have to defend and you need the right balance.

“I have no doubt that if Joao continues to perform well, he will find his moment in the Premier League.”

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Leicester manager Steve Cooper, meanwhile, will have to pick his side up after a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United ahead of the international break. He will have to do it without key player Ricardo Pereira, who is out for four months with a hamstring injury.

“It's a real blow for everyone, and especially for him. We will now all support him in his recovery,” he told BBC Sport.

Having kept just one clean sheet in 11 league games, Cooper is also aware of where his side need to improve.

“We are not going to hide from the chances and goals we concede and we will continue to show the intention to improve on that,” he said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

Vardy is 37 years old but tops the charts at Leicester with four goals in the Premier League.

He has opened the scoring once this season and has a conversion rate of 33.33% after scoring his goals from twelve shots on target.

Chelsea Cole Palmer

Palmer is fifth in the Premier League's top scorers this season, with seven goals. He also ranks second in goal involvement, having added five assists in addition to his goals.

The Chelsea forward has scored at least three shots in five of his last six league games and is fourth in total shots in the Premier League with 36.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Chelsea earned a 1–1 draw at home to Arsenal in their final match before the international break, leaving them third in the table and four points behind second-placed Manchester City.

That draw means Chelsea have lost just one of their last ten league games (W5 D4), which they played against league leaders Liverpool in October.

Chelsea have lost just one of their last seven away games against Leicester (W4 D2) and have won a total of four of their last five meetings.

Leicester are winless in their last thirteen Premier League games against teams that start the day in the top four of the table (D3 L10). They come into this with three defeats in their last four matches in all competitions (D1).

OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING

Leicester – 19%

Draw – 21.6%

Chelsea – 59.5%