Enzo Maresca at Chelsea: What we can expect in FPL

Some strong late-season form saw Chelsea finish sixth and restore some dignity after spending most of 2023/24 in vast underachievement.

The final 15 league matches brought just one loss and a closing run of five successive wins, yet the hierarchy decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino.

Fans and players were mostly saddened by this. Especially when he was replaced by the inexperienced and underwhelming – though Chelsea officials would call it young and progressive – Enzo Maresca. Someone who is more accepting of his role in the club’s structure.

Handed a five-year contract, there’s clearly confidence from those above that the 44-year-old will prove doubters wrong.

So what Fantasy Premier League (FPL) impact will he have? We’ll attempt to answer those questions below.

CAREER SO FAR

Having come through Cagliari’s youth system, the Italian central midfielder made a bold teenage move to West Bromwich Albion in 1998.

He was able to catch the eye of Juventus and completed a £4.3m transfer two years later, sharing a dressing room with elite players such as Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.

Serie A was won in 2002 – between temporary stints at Bologna and Piacenza – before helping Fiorentina avoid 2004/05 relegation.

Maresca’s career was generally nomadic but he did enjoy a strong four seasons at Sevilla. Eight league goals were netted in the first one, alongside a couple in the UEFA Cup final against Middlesbrough. Juande Ramos’ team retained this continental trophy in 2007, also winning the UEFA Super Cup and a Copa del Rey.

Uncapped by Italy, closing campaigns took him to Olympiakos, Malaga, Sampdoria, Palermo and Verona.

By now, he’d caught the coaching bug. A spell on the Ascoli and Sevilla staff led to time as Manuel Pellegrini’s assistant at West Ham United.

Following this, Pep Guardiola hired him to take charge of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad for 2020/21. Here, a talent pool including current Chelsea players Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia went on to win the Premier League 2 title.

It persuaded Parma to hand Maresca his first senior managerial position but, unfortunately, he was gone by November after four Serie B wins from 14 outings. So Guardiola brought him back as first-team assistant.

MARESCA’S LEICESTER YEAR

• FA Cup: Quarter-finals
• EFL Cup: Third round

Similarly to how Mikel Arteta successfully made the step up from Pep’s assistant to top-level manager, Leicester City trusted Maresca with the task of promotion.

Star names James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans and Timothy Castagne had understandably departed, so it was impressive that the Foxes won all but one of their first 14 Championship matches. By this stage, they were already 14 points clear of third place, although it preceded consecutive losses to Leeds United and Middlesbrough.

However, the real wobble occurred between February and April, as promotion was seemingly within their grasp. Six defeats in 10 suddenly made it a tight race for the automatic spots.

Despite this, they found the inner strength needed to stumble over the line as 97-point champions.

What may have particularly caught Chelsea’s eye is Leicester’s performance during the FA Cup quarter-final clash at Stamford Bridge. It was 2-2 until a pair of dramatic stoppage-time goals won it for the Premier League side.

PLAYING STYLE + TACTICS

A Guardiola disciple, it’s not a surprise to see Maresca be about positional play and keeping the ball. At Coverciano coaching school, his thesis was titled ‘Football and Chess.’

Leicester averaged 62.2% possession, being bettered only by Southampton for many Championship passing statistics (overall number, short ones etc). Meanwhile, they were down in fifth for attempts (647) and fourth for getting them on target (223) yet also first for expected goals (xG, 84.90), suggesting they’re more about the quality of shots rather than quantity.

ABOVE: Taken from FBref.com

That requires superb build-up play. A fan of 4-3-3, Maresca insists on goalkeeper Mads Hermansen stepping up beside defenders to join their deep passing sequences. Simultaneously, one full-back inverts to create a double midfield pivot. Now there is a good range of passing lanes and angles to emerge from the opponent’s high pressing.

One thing learnt from Pep is that the defensive half of 3-2-4-1 is ideal for preventing counter-attacks. As a bonus, it allows two high-energy central midfielders to push up into half-spaces and remove pressure from the centre-forward.

For example, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall flourished in this role, registering 12 goals and 14 assists. At the same time, wingers are encouraged to maintain width and take on their full-back foes.

When without the ball, Maresca wants a 4-4-2 press to quickly regain it.

But Leicester fans often felt that the lack of ‘Plan B’ became problematic later on.

MARESCA AT CHELSEA: FPL PROSPECTS

Fantasy managers won’t relish seeing Chelsea host Man City on the opening weekend but last season’s 4-4 ended with returns for the likes of Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling.

Then, our Season Ticker believes they have the best fixtures between Gameweeks 2 and 7. No doubt that will bring attention to Palmer, regardless of his inevitable hefty price rise. Upon reuniting with Maresca, pre-season should identify whether he’ll be used on the wing or as a central attacking midfielder. The latter brought so many FPL returns in later months but it’d require a slight tactical tweak for the Italian.

Next up, full-backs. Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell overlap but we know that Reece James can be a right-sided centre-back. That’s handy versatility should Marc Cucurella – fresh from a late resurgence under Pochettino – be asked to invert alongside Moises Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez. Then again, it could restrict the individual attacking output required by FPL managers.

A combination of Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk will provide width, hovering around a centrepoint who can drop deep but also push forward to create space for onrushing central midfielders.

Transfer rumours regularly link Chelsea with a new forward to compete with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku. Targets like Jonathan David, Jhon Duran, Maximilian Beier and Samu Omorodion.

Tosin Adarabioyo has already arrived to replace Thiago Silva. An estimated guess says they’ll be tracking goalkeepers and right-wingers too.

For now, with such strong competition for places expected up front and in defence, managers will feel justified in only shortlisting Palmer for Gameweek 1 selection.

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