Enzo Maresca insists Noni Maduke remains in contention to face Ipswich despite the England winger being left out of Chelsea’s Boxing Day derby against Fulham.
Maduke was surprisingly absent from the squad 2-1 loss on Thursday by their west London neighbors but it’s not the first time 22-year-old Maresca has been left out. He was also left out against Aston Villa Earlier in the month after failing to impress the Italians in training.
Maresca named two goalkeepers on his bench instead of including Madeu and explained that it was a “technical decision”. He added: “Sometimes we just make a decision and it’s nothing more than that. Is he in contention for Ipswich? Yes, sure.
“The competition has to be high, but not just for Noni Madukek. Also Renato Veiga was not in the squad and the reason is the same for both of them. There is no different reason for this, it is just a technical decision.”
After being dropped against Villa, Maduke returned to the starting lineup three days later at Southampton and scored in a 5–1 win. “Very good, fantastic and he responded very well at the time so nothing more,” added Maresca. “I expect the same this time, yes, absolutely.”
Maresca are set to make more changes at Portman Road on Monday after Chelsea suffered 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.
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“Definitely, after a game you have to go again, no matter the result, especially this month,” Maresca said. “I think in December, we’ve already played eight or nine games in 25 or 27 days so now it’s important to recover the energy and go again on Monday. We’ll see if we’re going to make one, two or three changes.”
