Another midweek cup game, another opportunity for Enzo Maresca’s second-string Chelsea XI to show they deserve more than merely a place on the bench in the Premier League.
The visit of FC Noah, from the remote town of Armavir in western Armenia, is the latest opportunity for Joao Felix to press his case.
Felix has unquestionably been the pick of the bunch from Chelsea’s de facto ‘B’ team this season, but his problem is that he plays in the same position as Cole Palmer.
He is at his most comfortable playing as the No10, where Palmer is the leading midfield scorer in Europe’s major leagues in 2024 and undroppable.
But Maresca offered up the idea last week that Palmer and Felix could play together.
Joao Felix has been largely reduced to a ‘B’ team role
John Walton/PA Wire
“It depends on the game”, he explained. “Probably soon we are going to see Joao and Cole together in the pocket with a striker.”
Might that be the solution for Felix, then? Does his route to a first Premier League since he rejoined the club rest on being deployed alongside Palmer?
Maresca has not been particularly clear on his plans, appearing to backtrack from that idea on Wednesday when speaking ahead of the Noah game.
“I feel shame about Joao,” he admitted. “I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but I have said many times we need defensive balance. We cannot play with Joao, Cole, Christo [Nkunku].
“I’d like to put all of them inside the pitch, but then you also have to defend and you need the right balance between the two phases of attacking and defending.”
Enzo Maresca offered up the idea last week that Cole Palmer and Joao Felix could link-up
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How Chelsea can play Cole Palmer and Joao Felix together
One option is to hand Felix the No10 position, with Pedro Neto or Jadon Sancho on the left wing and ask Palmer to nominally play on the right but with licence to venture centrally and combine with Felix.
The question is whether Maresca would risk moving Palmer onto the peripheries.
Another alternative is that Felix could be moved to the left wing, with the left-back – possibly Reece James – asked to stay high and wide as Felix comes in-field and creates openings in close proximity to Palmer.
Neither option feels ideal, as it means moving a traditional playmaker out wide when Maresca has so much depth and quality in the Chelsea squad.
Maresca boasts Sancho, Neto, Noni Madueke, Mudryk and Nkunku as more conventional options on the wings. Even though their individual performances have been more hit-and-miss, Maresca’s 4-2-3-1 system requires width from his wide forwards, which is not Felix’s game.
That issue was put to Maresca on Wednesday.
“This is the only reason why”, Maresca said of why Felix has not played more. “There is no doubt if Joao keeps working well, he is going to find his moment in the Premier League.”