Joe Cole is on TNT Sport previewing Chelsea’s game against Djurgarden tonight, and he picked out a few players from Enzo Maresca’s team sheet who will want to impress.
“There’s a lot of players in that team who need to perform. Reece James is captain of the club. I think with his injury issues, this means he won’t be playing on the weekend against Liverpool. That’s a disappointment, he has to lift himself and make sure he gets the job done,” Cole said of the club captain.
You can see the pundit speaking in the clip embedded here:
"To do all of them would be some icing on the cake" 🏆
The panel look ahead to Chelsea's semi-final tonight in Sweden, the inclusion of Reece James, and the prospect of becoming the 1st team to complete the "European set"
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 1, 2025
Cole points to George as scoring Chelsea’s most important goal
Cole also noted that another starter in the team tonight was looking to build on an increasingly impressive run of form, and a vital goal in the league a couple of weeks ago:
“It’s a big game for Tyrique George, playing through the middle. He may, when all is said and done, have scored the most crucial goal in Chelsea’s season when he came on against Fulham. Because I think if Chelsea hadn’t beaten Fulham that day, I think the story would be very different tonight.”
George is playing up front tonight, showing Maresca’s faith in his ability and versatility.
Chelsea favourites despite rotation says pundit
When all is said and done, Cole is confident that Chelsea are heavy favourites despite the fact there are only a few first team regulars in the mix:
“Whoever Chelsea play, the squad is so strong they can go out and win. Certainly in a game of this magnitude. The conditions could be a problem, and the pitch, but that team is more than strong enough to win this game.”
Let’s hope he’s right.
