'Horribly wrong': Paul Merson claims Enzo Maresca has made a 'bad mistake' at Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has rightly received a lot of praise for his impact at Chelsea in the first half of the season, but a few cracks started to appear in his team over the festive schedule.
Chelsea are without a win in their last three games after a draw to Everton, followed by back-to-back defeats against Fulham and Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
The fact that some people were recently discussing the Blues as potential title contenders is a sign of how well Enzo Maresca has done since he took charge as the Chelsea manager in the summer. However, his side has slipped down to fourth in the division table following a mini blip.
Paul Merson points out Enzo Maresca mistake with Nicolas Jackson
Paul Merson has criticised Maresca for dropping Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson in the recent trip to Ipswich Town, which they ended up losing 2-0 in, arguably their worst result of the campaign so far.
Jackson, 23, is the first-choice centre-forward for the Blues, scoring nine league goals this season. He didn’t start the Ipswich defeat as Christopher Nkunku struggled to lead the line in his place.
Merson claims that Chelsea paid the price for not starting Jackson last time out.
“I think the one thing that Enzo Maresca needs to learn is that when Chelsea play away from home, he has to start with Nicolas Jackson,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“It was a bad mistake playing Christopher Nkunku at Ipswich. Jackson gives you the energy up front in such games and holds the ball up really well. Maresca got that selection horribly wrong and Chelsea paid the price for it!”
Thierry Henry rates Chelsea’s Jackson as the real deal, so he’s not a player you want to be leaving out of the line-up too often.
A big strength of Maresca so far at Stamford Bridge has been his ability to shuffle his pack and use his squad, but he simply must go full strength in the upcoming fixture because he desperately needs a result.
Paul Merson predicts Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Up next for Chelsea, they travel across London on Saturday afternoon to face Crystal Palace in a league showdown.
The teams played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge back in September during the reverse fixture, so the Blues can expect a tough challenge at Selhurst Park.
Even though Chelsea have one point from their last three league games, Merson is tipping them to bounce back with a win on the road at Palace.
Merson told Sportskeeda: “This is a diffciult game for Chelsea at Crystal Palace, especially considering their run of form… I’m backing Chelsea to win but that’s just my hear talking, my head still thinks they may not be able to win this one. Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea.”
Chelsea’s predicted XI to face Palace includes five changes from Monday’s defeat at Ipswich Town, so it’s time to see a big reaction this weekend.
from Latest Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/FK7Ryo4
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