Enzo Maresca has insisted that Noni Madueke is in contention to face Ipswich despite dropping the England winger for Chelsea’s Boxing Day derby against Fulham.
Madueke was a surprise absentee from the squad for Thursday’s 2-1 defeat by their west London neighbours but it was not the first time Maresca has dropped the 22-year-old. He was also left out against Aston Villa at the start of the month after failing to impress the Italian in training.
Maresca named two goalkeepers on his bench rather than include Madueke, and explained it was a “technical decision”. He added: “Sometimes we just take a decision and it’s no more than that. Is he in contention for Ipswich? Yeah, for sure.
“The competition has to be higher, but not only for Noni Madueke. Also Renato Veiga was not in the squad and the reason is exactly the same for both of them. There is not any different reason, it’s just a technical decision.”
After being dropped against Villa, Madueke returned to the starting lineup three days later at Southampton and scored in a 5-1 win. “Very good, fantastic and he responded very good at that time so there is no more than that,” added Maresca. “I expect the same this time, yeah, absolutely.”
Maresca is set to make further changes at Portman Road on Monday after Chelsea slipped to their first defeat since October. Cole Palmer’s 12th goal of the season put the Blues ahead but late strikes from Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz gave Fulham their first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979.
“For sure, after a game you need to go again, no matter the result, especially in this month,” said Maresca. “I think in December, we already played eight or nine games in 25 or 27 days so it’s now important to recover the energy and go again on Monday. If we are going to make one, two or three changes we will see.”
