Metro.co.uk

Enzo Maresca believes Moises Caicedo can be considered the best defensive midfielder in the world after Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Spurs on Thursday evening.

Enzo Fernandez’s header secured the victory over Spurs at Stamford Bridge which has put Chelsea fourth in the Premier League and five points behind Nottingham Forest in third spot.

Caicedo, meanwhile, delivered another dominant performance at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield and the £115 million signing from Brighton remains one of the standout players under Maresca this season.

When Jamie Redknapp suggested after the game that there are not many better midfielders in the world than Caicedo on current form, Maresca told Sky Sports: ‘Absolutely, I completely agree with you.

‘I think in this moment he’s one of the best, or the best defensive midfielder in the world.

‘He’s doing fantastic. The best thing about Moi is that every day he’s working serious, he’s very humble, he’s very kind, he’s polite, he’s a fantastic guy.

‘I think today was another great performance.

‘Also I think we had more players like Trev Chalobah who did a fantastic game. But I think overall the team was good.’

In a separate interview with Chelsea’s in-house media channel, Maresca added: ‘Moi was once again top tonight.

I think Enzo was in the right position again, arriving in the box, Trev Chalobah was also good.

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‘But I think all of them, Levi [Colwill] was top, I think Malo [Gusto] was very good, I think the performance has been a complete performance from all of them.’

Colwill also hailed Caicedo’s impact on helping Chelsea keep their fourth successive clean sheet at home in all competitions.

‘Moi is just breaking up everything, he’s making everything look so easy,’ Colwill said.

‘For me, if I had a mic on me when I’m playing, all you’d hear is,’ oh, wow, Moi’, that’s all I do because he makes it so easy for us in the defence because he stops everything before it gets to us.’

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Enzo Fernandez couldn’t hide his delight as Chelsea fans mocked Tottenham after another victory over their London rivals.

The Argentina international headed home Cole Palmer’s cross to seal a 1-0 victory for the Blues, a result which moves them into fourth in the race for Champions League qualification.

The result piles more misery on Spurs who are hopelessly marooned in 14th place.

During the game, manager Ange Postecoglou appeared to goal fans after his substitutions were met with chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ with travelling supporters furiously booing players who approached the away end at full-time.

Chelsea fans meanwhile revelled in their rivals’ suffering.

Thursday’s victory was their fourth in a row over Tottenham having also beaten them home and away last season with the chant of ‘Tottenham get battered everywhere they go’ ringing around Stamford Bridge.

Sky Sports cameras picked up one section of fans belting out the chant with the camera then cutting to Fernandez in the dugout having been replaced by Kieran Dewsbury-Hall moments earlier.

With a broad smile on his face, Fernandez was seen bobbing his head along to the chant, enjoying the moment to wind up the opposition supporters.

Fernandez was also on the score sheet in the thrilling 4-3 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December.

The 1-0 victory didn’t truly reflect Chelsea’s dominance of the game with 12 minutes of injury time setting up a nervy finale with Spurs also having a goal ruled out earlier in the contest.

Enzo Maresca admitted his side had to try their hand at ‘playing dirty’ to ensure there was no late drama.

‘I just said to the players that we don’t work every day to win games in the way we did, or play in the way we did in the last ten minutes, in terms of waiting for them and giving the ball to them,’ Maresca said post-match.

‘But if you want to become a team, you also have to learn to play the way we did in the last ten minutes, to win a game in a dirty way.

‘I think for 90 minutes, until added time, we were in control, we created enough chances to win the game.’

Chelsea return to Premier League action away to Brentford on Sunday.

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Chelsea will have three key players back in the side when they take on Tottenham in the Premier League tonight.

Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson all returning to first-team training over the break.

Speaking on Wednesday, Enzo Maresca confirmed the trio are all ready and available to take on Spurs.

Palmer missed the defeat to Arsenal before the international break after picking up a muscle injury and was unable to feature in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

However, the talismanic midfielder has now been given the all-clear after two scans and will likely be welcomed straight back into the starting XI as Chelsea look to rediscover their attacking impetus.

Madueke, meanwhile, has missed Chelsea’s last six games since suffering a hamstring injury but will also be in line to start on the weekend.

Jackson has been the longest attacking absentee from Maresca’s side having not featured since the start of February against West Ham.

Despite his hit-and-miss first half of the season, the Blues have sorely missed the Senegalese striker’s presence at the top of the pitch but could throw him straight back into the starting lineup despite his lengthy layoff.

Romeo Lavia however has suffered another injury setback with a ‘small problem’ sidelining him tonight.

Elsewhere, Chelsea have a largely clean bill of health, although Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman remain sidelined with their respective longer-term injuries.

Moises Caicedo remains one yellow card away from a two-match suspension, but the Ecuadorian is still likely to partner Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park.

Reece James could slot straight back in at right-back after his impressive showing for England during the international break, while Robert Sanchez is expected to continue in goal despite his mixed performances this season.

Tottenham, meanwhile, will be hoping to welcome back Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso, while Lucas Bergvall is expected to have recovered from an illness that saw him play no part in Sweden’s international break.

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Tottenham

Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea

Vicario; Spence, Van de Ven, Romero, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Sarr; Tel, Solanke, Son.

Where to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham? Kick-off time and TV channel

Chelsea vs Tottenham kicks off at 8pm on Tuesday 1 April.

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The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage starting at 7pm. Viewers can also tune into the action online via Now TV or the Sky Go app.

You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE matchday blog.

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Three Chelsea players are back for the upcoming Premier League clash against Tottenham but Romeo Lavia has suffered a fresh injury problem.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday morning, Enzo Maresca confirmed Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke were ‘all good’ to feature in Thursday’s London derby.

Lavia’s absence looks set to continue, however, after he suffered a ‘small problem’ n training earlier in the week.

Maresca said: ‘Cole is back, he is okay. Noni is better. Nico is better. They are all good.

‘We’ve said many times, it is a game for players and when they are not there, you struggle.

‘This has happened with us this season, where we had five or six unbelievable months and then had six or seven injuries in a row and we lost something.

‘Now it is good to finish with all of them. Since day one, [the players] are giving everything. The attitude has always been top, every day, and even in the last week because they know how important it is from now on.

‘Every game becomes important. We have nine games to go and hopefully we can finish well.’

Asked about Lavia’s possible return, Maresca added: ‘He was doing better in terms of progress but unfortunately one or two days ago he had a small problem, so we will see in the next hours.’

Palmer, arguably Chelsea’s best and most important player, missed the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal before the international break with a hamstring injury.

The 22-year-old, who is going through the first sticky patch of his career, then withdrew from England’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.

Madueke has also been struggling with a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since mid-February.

The 23-year-old was one of Chelsea’s brightest players during the first-half of the season but only has two goals since early December.

Jackson, meanwhile, has not played since February 3. The Senegal striker scored nine goals in the first-half of the season but had failed to score in eight games before his injury setback.

Lavia has endured a miserable time with injuries since Chelsea signed him from Southampton in the summer of 2023, missing 62 games through various setbacks.

Chelsea welcome Spurs to Stamford Bridge on Thursday hoping to consolidate their place in the top-four of the Premier League.

Maresca’s side have lost three of their last five league games but face a Tottenham team sitting 14th in the table and without a league win since late February.

‘It’s a huge game,’ Maresca said. ‘We know how important it is for the fans and the club. It is also important for us to try and finish where we are now.

‘Tottenham have a lot of good players, but no matter who is playing, it’s going to be a derby and it’s a Premier League and you can struggle against any team.

‘We want to be direct and quick when they press higher. We cannot be direct and quick if they sit back.

‘In our last three home games, they have all been games with every player behind the ball. When you have players who love to run in behind, it is easier.

‘If we win, you can build momentum for the end. They are all important games and are all three points. We need to win as many games as we can and we will see where we finish.’

On Tottenham’s struggles this season, Maresca added: ‘For part of the season, they had many injuries. It’s not easy to deal with that.

‘They had important players out. I’m not able to give you more reason because you need more details, but injuries have been an important part [of their struggles].’

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Timo Werner faces an uncertain future as he is seemingly unwanted by loan side Tottenham or parent club RB Leipzig.

The 29-year-old initially joined Spurs on loan in January last year and was extended last summer to run until the end of the this season.

While there was enough promise in the first six months for Tottenham to want to keep the German around, things have not gone well since.

It has been a very poor season for Spurs and Werner has not contributed much, with no goals in 18 Premier League appearances and one in 21 across all competitions.

Tottenham have an option to buy Werner in the summer for just £8.5m but it seems unlikely that they will take up that opportunity given his form and RB Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer appears to have confirmed that.

‘Timo Werner is currently at Tottenham. We spoke with his agent two or three weeks ago. I think the loan isn’t going quite as well as we might hope,’ Schafer told RB Live.

‘[Leipzig will] think about Timo Werner and all the players who are returning in the summer in due course.’

It does not seem likely that the forward has much of a future at Leipzig either, with Schafer adding: ‘We want to have a team on the pitch starting this summer that corresponds to what I’ve already answered several times.

‘We need a breath of fresh air, a new spirit, to recapture that attitude, that life, brutal energy that has distinguished this club.’

Even with Tottenham struggling with a lot of injury problems this season, Werner has started just four Premier League matches and has faced open criticism from manager Ange Postecoglou.

After a Europa League draw with Rangers in December, the Australian said of the former Chelsea man being subbed off.

‘When you’ve got 18-year-olds in the team, it’s not acceptable to me,’ Postecoglou said when asked about Werner’s withdrawal.

‘I said that to Timo, he’s a German international. In the moment we’re in right now – it’s not like we’ve got many options, I need everyone to at least be going out there and trying to give the best of themselves.

‘His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable. We need everybody, including him, to be contributing because we don’t have the depth to leave people out if they perform poorly.

‘I expect a level of performance from some of the senior guys, and tonight wasn’t that.’

Expanding on those comments at a press conference on Friday morning, Postecoglou said: ‘We’re in a fight here. I’m not going to go around worrying about bruised egos. We want to achieve things, we want to be successful and we’re down to the bare bones in players.

‘If someone is fit and able to contribute and someone who feels they need a bit extra [motivation], they are probably not the right person. If they can’t give me extra right now, that shows me where they are at.

‘We are in a difficult situation because of where we are squad wise. We have 15 fit players. If you want to make excuses there’s millions of excuses of them why they can’t be successful. If that’s you, move on, go somewhere else.

‘Last night wasn’t about Timo Werner wasn’t about him. It could have been someone else. Other players could have given more. It’s not about Timo, it’s about the situation we are in. It could be anyone. It’s not about bringing someone down or blaming someone.’

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Arsenal supporters have blasted the club’s ‘stupid’ decision to hold the first north London derby against Tottenham outside the United Kingdom.

The Gunners and Spurs both announced on Monday that they will play a pre-season match in Hong Kong at the 50,000-seater Kai Tak Stadium.

Arsenal’s friendly clash with their rivals will take place on Thursday, July 31 as the two Premier League sides get ready for the 2025-26 campaign.

There have been mixed responses from Arsenal fans across social media, with some fearful of heavy tackles and the risk of injury to key players.

‘Not a great fixture,’ Arsenal supporter @Electrical-Lab-9593 posted on Reddit. ‘Could be crunching tackles we don’t need.’

A second Arsenal fan, @lardoni, said: ‘I don’t like it! It’s gonna get messy!…. Can’t we just batter them as usual in [the] season?’

‘This is so stupid,’ @AlanMerckin added while @Imarnuel1702 posted: ‘Cos meeting that lot at least TWICE every season isn’t bad enough [sick emoji].’

Other Arsenal supporters praised the decision, seeing it as an opportunity to grow the fanbase in Asia and drive revenue to hopefully help the club in future transfer windows.

Arsenal’s managing director Richard Garlick explained the decision to play Spurs in Hong Kong via a statement on the club’s website.

‘Everyone at Arsenal is excited to be visiting Hong Kong in July,’ he said. ‘It’s great to be back with our men’s first team squad after 13 years, and gives us the opportunity to meet so many of our fantastic supporters in the region again.

‘As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world.

‘Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.’

Tottenham’s chief revenue officer Ryan Norys added: ‘There are few bigger occasions in English football than a north London derby.

‘To play this fixture in Hong Kong will be a huge occasion for our passionate fanbase across Asia, as well as providing ideal preparation for the team ahead of the new season.

‘As is tour tradition, the Club will be involved in so much more than the match itself when we visit, supporting charitable causes, celebrating local culture, delivering football clinics for young people and engaging with fans and partners.

‘We cannot wait to visit such a beautiful place once again.’

Arsenal beat Spurs twice this term, winning the first north London derby of the 2024-25 season 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.

The Gunners emerged victorious again when the two rivals met at the Emirates in January, with Mikel Arteta’s men registering a 2-1 victory.

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Chelsea look set to receive a triple injury boost as Enzo Maresca’s side prepare to face London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday.

The Blues fell to a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal prior to the international break to leave them just one point above Manchester City in fifth place.

Maresca’s side are now firmly in a battle to hold on to a top-four finish, but have been dealt some positive news with Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson all returning to first-team training over the break.

Palmer missed the defeat to Arsenal after picking up a muscle injury and was unable to feature in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

However, the talismanic midfielder has now been given the all-clear after two scans and will likely be welcomed straight back into the starting XI as Chelsea look to rediscover their attacking impetus.

Madueke, meanwhile, has missed Chelsea’s last six games since suffering a hamstring injury but will also be in line to start on the weekend.

Jackson has been the longest attacking absentee from Maresca’s side having not featured since the start of February against West Ham.

Despite his hit-and-miss first half of the season, the Blues have sorely missed the Senegalese striker’s presence at the top of the pitch but could throw him straight back into the starting lineup despite his lengthy layoff.

Elsewhere, Chelsea have a largely clean bill of health, although Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman remain sidelined with their respective longer-term injuries.

Moises Caicedo remains one yellow card away from a two-match suspension, but the Ecuadorian is still likely to partner Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park.

Reece James could slot straight back in at right-back after his impressive showing for England during the international break, while Robert Sanchez is expected to continue in goal despite his mixed performances this season.

Tottenham, meanwhile, will be hoping to welcome back Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso, while Lucas Bergvall is expected to have recovered from an illness that saw him play no part in Sweden’s international break.

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Tottenham

Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea

Vicario; Spence, Van de Ven, Romero, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Sarr; Tel, Solanke, Son.

Where to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham? Kick-off time and TV channel

Chelsea vs Tottenham kicks off at 8pm on Tuesday 1 April.

More Trending

The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage starting at 7pm. Viewers can also tune into the action online via Now TV or the Sky Go app.

You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE matchday blog.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Andoni Iraola insists he will not be distracted by speculation linking him with a summer move to Tottenham.

The Spaniard has worked wonders on the south coast, transforming Bournemouth from relegation candidates into a side threatening to qualify for Europe next season.

Iraola’s side are preparing for an FA Cup quarter final against Manchester City on Sunday and Iraola is adamant he won’t look focus amid reports he has been lined up as a replacement for Ange Postecoglou as Spurs’ next manager.

‘I want to do my job the best I can. I don’t know how far we can go, where we will finish,’ Iraola said speaking ahead of this weekend’s game agianst City.

‘If I don’t do the job very well, they (Bournemouth’s owners) will find someone else who does the job – it is like this in every job.

‘I am really happy here. We have a great opportunity for the first time in the (club’s) history to go to (the FA Cup) semi-finals. That would be amazing for me personally and for the club to achieve new heights.

‘But we know that we have to also be realistic, that there are better teams than us and we have to fight against teams that are very good, so we will try to give the best level we have.’

Iraola, meanwhile, feels his current club now have all the tools needed to push on to new heights after moving into a state-of-the-art £32million training centre.

The Cherries used the international break to relocate the first-team squad to Canford Magna, which has an indoor dome as well as outdoor full-sized pitches and rehabilitation facilities across the 57-acre site.

The ambitious project, first approved in October 2019, will also be a base for the women’s teams as well as Bournemouth’s academy set-up, which now meets requirements for Category Two status.

And the 42-year-old Spaniard feels everything is now in place behind the scenes to continue progress on the pitch.

‘It has been a big change for us,’ Iraola said. ‘We still have to familiarise (with it all), but obviously it is a big improvement for the team and for the club.

‘(Making a change of base) during the season sometimes is not the best moment, but I think this (international) break has been very good to do it and you can see (that) from the faces of the players.

‘The (training) pitches are perfect – we have all the tools we need. The most important thing is the football, but at least we cannot now use any other excuses because we have the best tools.”

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Cole Palmer remains a doubt for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Tottenham next week as he has still not returned to full training.

The 22-year-old is still suffering with the muscular problem which saw him miss Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal last time out.

He was named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad but could not be involved due to the issue and missed the wins over Albania and Latvia.

The forward was expected to return when the Blues host Spurs on Thursday April 3 but there are lingering doubts over whether that will happen or not.

The Daily Mail report that Palmer is yet to train with his teammates since picking up the injury and while those not away on international duty have been training at Cobham, the former Manchester City man has not been involved.

Clearly there is still time for Palmer to prove his fitness, with the match the best part of a week away, but Enzo Maresca will want to see him back in training as soon as possible.

Palmer is not only dealing with injury but also his first dip in form since joining from City in the summer of 2023.

His move to Stamford Bridge has been a stunning success for him but he has hit something of a drought in front of goal for the first time, last netting on January 14 against Bournemouth.

Maresca has downplayed Palmer’s struggles, saying last month: ‘It’s normal. It’s like a team. You cannot expect Cole Palmer, every season or every game, to be like last season or like the first part of the season. It’s normal, it’s something normal.

‘He’s a human being, he’s missing some things and now it’s how we react. So I was telling him that. Everything is normal. He’s happy, he’s okay.

‘I’ve said already that he has been lucky in his career, even if he is young, because he’s shared moments, changing rooms, with top players.

‘He knows that any top players go through bad moments.

‘It’s how you react. Keep calm, keep working, keep laughing. Be calm, be happy, enjoy the football. It’s the only thing you have to do.’

While Palmer remains a doubt for next week, Nicolas Jackson is expected to be involved after missing two months through injury.

The striker is back in training after a hamstring injury and should at least be on the bench against Spurs.

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Tottenham have not made a final decision on Ange Postecoglou’s future, but if they axe the Australian they want Andoni Iraola as his replacement.

Spurs are having an extremely disappointing season, sitting 14th in the Premier League table with just 10 wins from their 29 outings.

They have suffered with a lot of injuries, but even with those problems there is no arguing that Postecoglou’s side has underperformed.

There is a chance to save the season as they remain in the Europa League, where they will take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.

Postecoglou’s job may well depend on how Spurs do in that competition as lifting the trophy would certainly see him stay at the club but anything less may not be enough.

If the Spurs hierarchy decide to swing the axe at the end of the season then they have already identified Bournemouth boss Iraola as their number one target, report The Athletic.

The 42-year-old has impressed since moving to the Premier League with the Cherries in 2023, launching a challenge for a European football at the south coast club.

The Spaniard won seven caps for his country during his epic playing career with Athletic Bilbao, before moving into management in 2018.

His CV includes stints with AEK Larnaca, Mirandes, Rayo Vallecano and now Bournemouth so it would be a step up to a club the size of Spurs, but they feel he is ready to make the jump.

Iraola has a contract until next year at Bournemouth so Tottenham would need to meet his £10m release clause if they want him this summer.

It could be that Iraola does not fancy the move and Spurs have other targets, with Fulham’s Marco Silva and Brentford’s Thomas Frank also believed to be candidates.

Clearly proven Premier League experience is a key factor for the decision-makers at Tottenham after appointing the current boss who had never managed in a top European league previously.

Silva and Frank have both regularly been linked with moves to bigger clubs due to the jobs they have done with the Cottagers and the Bees respectively.

Frank was linked with both the Manchester United and Chelsea jobs just last year and spoke out about how content he is at Brentford, but admitted it would be silly to rule out the possibility of a move in future.

‘I’m happy here. I’ve said it many times and I mean it,’ the Dane told The Athletic.

‘It’s close to the perfect football life. I’m not in any rush or searching to do something else but I also think I’ve learned in life I’m open for what can happen.

‘I can see myself being here for a long period. Can I stay here for seven more years? I don’t know and that’s not that I don’t love Brentford, it’s just: do I want to try something different?

‘But I’m very aware the grass is not greener in the garden next door even if it looks like it. Then you get in there, take a closer look and see there are a lot of weeds in the grass.’

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