Our penultimate Premier League match of 2024/25 – and the last on home soil – sees us hosting Man Utd at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, with preparations for the game being concluded at Cobham on Thursday.

Among those out on the training pitch were Cole Palmer – today nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award – and Reece James, after Maresca confirmed our skipper is available to face United despite missing training due to illness earlier this week.

The only player definitely ruled out of tomorrow’s match through injury is Christopher Nkunku, while Nicolas Jackson is suspended following his red card against Newcastle United, and Jadon Sancho is ineligible as he is currently on loan with the Blues from our Manchester opponents.

The absence of Jackson, Nkunku and potentially Marc Guiu – who is in the process of returning from injury – left our head coach pondering his attacking options against what is likely to be a five-man Man Utd defence, something he discussed in his pre-match press conference at Cobham, shortly before the start of Thursday's training session.

‘It depends a little bit on the game plan,’ added Enzo. ‘When playing against a line of five, I prefer to have a 'real' nine because you need to attack behind, you need that threat.

‘Unfortunately we don’t have that, so we need to find a solution. I like a 'false' nine when we face a line of four, because you can link a little more, but against five defenders you need people running in behind. But it is what it is, and we need to find a different solution.’

Whichever solution Maresca settles on, the Italian will be hoping it can help us to a good result on what looks set to be a crucial game for our ambitions of Champions League qualification. With six points left to play for, a win in our final home fixture could go a long way towards securing our place in the top five come the end of the season.

Kick-off at the Bridge against Manchester United is at 8.15pm on Friday evening. Supporters in the UK can watch the game live on Sky Sports, and there will be minute-by-minute updates, live audio commentary and all the build-up, action and reaction throughout the day in our Chelsea vs Manchester United Match Centre.