The Portuguese winger started our victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but was not among the group that trained at Cobham this morning ahead of our trip to Azerbaijan.

Maresca confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the 25-year-old will be left at home, yet there is no major concern over his fitness.

‘Not a problem, just a small issue,' the Chelsea head coach explained when asked why Neto hadn't featured in our morning session, the first ten minutes of which were open to the media. 'So we try to protect him. He is not involved in tomorrow’s game.’

A five-and-a-half-hour flight awaits the Chelsea squad to reach Baku – and the decision has been taken to keep the players on English time while abroad to minimise any disruption in what is a busy fixture schedule.

Changes to the starting line-up are also expected, with Maresca outlining the need to utilise fresh players for what he expects to be a challenging fixture.

He said: ‘It’s an important game because it can give us three wins in a row in the Champions League and it can give us nine points.

'For sure, we need to rotate some of the players [against Qarabag] because we arrive back in London on Thursday morning at 6am, then on Saturday we have another game.

'So it’s a demanding schedule and we will try to adapt and do our best.'

There are a handful of players who remain sidelined for the Blues. Levi Colwill and Dario Essugo are long-term absentees, while Benoit Badiashile and Cole Palmer are recovering from issues that have kept them out in recent weeks.

The timeline on Palmer's return has yet to change, with Maresca reiterating the need to manage the Blues' No.10. There was a positive update on Badiashile, though.

'We go day by day with Cole,' Maresca explained. 'He isn’t taking part in any sessions with the team. But we could have Benoit Badiashile available after the international break.'

The Blues head coach will be able to welcome Liam Delap back into his squad after he served a one-match suspension against Tottenham. The striker is an option to feature in Baku.

‘Liam is back and is an important player for us,' said Maresca. 'He is an option for tomorrow and I don’t have any doubts that come the end of the season, we will be very happy with Liam in terms of goals, the way he works off the ball, how intense he is when we need to press.

'There is no doubt he is going to help us.’