It’s almost over… the final international break of 2024 has been absolutely crawling by, but by Saturday 12.30pm GMT Chelsea will be back in action in the Premier League, and we don’t have to worry about breaks after that until March.
Some players are still with their national teams – in fact some of the South American stars won’t be back until Thursday, making them very unlikely to feature in the clash against Leicester this weekend. But others are already filtering back, and those who weren’t selected for national team duty have had the chance to both rest and to impress Enzo Maresca in the reduced sized sessions that will have been taking place at Cobham this week.
Fans who like betting on sports will be eager for Premier League action to return so they can find some action on Outlook India or other casino sites. But which players will be most keen to see Chelsea games back so they can make the use of their short break? We picked out 3 Blues who will want to capitalise on the fortnight off to change their fortunes:
Reece James
James was put right back into the fray after returning from injury after the last international break, but was dropped for the Arsenal game which preceded this one. A solid fortnight of rest of recuperation should see him 100% fresh for Saturday and we expect him to start. He’s got hot competition in the form of Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella, and will want to make a statement against Leicester that he’s world class and undroppable.
Renato Veiga
With Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez unlikely to be able to start (or perhaps play at all) given their late returns from South America, and with Romeo Lavia nursing a hamstring injury, it seems likely that utility man Renato Veiga gets an appearance at the weekend.
The return of James has reduced Veiga’s role as a backup full back, so he needs these midfield minutes to show what he can do.
Veiga played 90 minutes in both Portugal games – which is positive for him but may cost him the chance to start at the King Power.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho has lost his place to Pedro Neto on the left wing, and with so many attackers pushing for minutes will fear for his long term prospects if he can’t make an impact. Neto is unlikely to play a fourth consecutive 90 minute game, considering he played for his country this week, so we expect to see Sancho off the bench in the second half. He can’t miss this chance to impress – they are going to be increasingly hard to come by.
