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Sep 13, 2025 8.00pm
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Brentford vs. Chelsea: Enzo Maresca reveals he is yet to see one of Blues' South American contingent after World Cup qualifiers

'I'm yet to see him': Maresca provides update on Chelsea's South American contingent ahead of Brentford game

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that he is yet to see one of his key players ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture against Brentford.

While Maresca has been able to work with a number of players who were not selected for their respective nations during the international break, a wide array of his first-team squad have been playing around the world.

Most notably, Brazil and Ecuador squared off against Bolivia and Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning, games that featured Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian, Joao Pedro and Moises Caicedo.

Brazil's fixture in Bolivia was also played at high altitude, conditions that would have been considerably more punishing than the average game.

As such, Maresca has decisions to make regarding the quartet ahead of the short trip to the Gtech Community Stadium.

Caicedo among Chelsea selection dilemmas

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, Maresca revealed that none of the aforementioned four players had featured in a training session since their return.

Furthermore, he added that he is yet to see Caicedo, casting doubt as to whether any of them will start against the Bees.

The Italian said, as quoted by football.london: "The three Brazilian players arrived yesterday but didn't train.

"Moi arrived last night - I didn't see him, I will see him today. For all of them it is a question mark for tomorrow.

"When they play in Bolivia, it's difficult. Hopefully they can be back soon."

Time for Maresca to rotate ahead of Bayern Munich, Manchester United games

With Chelsea facing both Bayern Munich and Manchester United within a week of the Brentford encounter, it makes sense for him to consider alterations.

Caicedo, Estevao and Pedro would have been likely to start in usual circumstances, while Santos would have likely been named on the substitutes' bench.

Of the four, Santos played the most minutes in the early hours of Wednesday morning, so it may lead to Caicedo starting alongside Enzo Fernandez.

However, in the case of Estevao and Pedro, they could be kept in reserve with Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Facundo Buonanotte, Tyrique George and Marc Guiu all alternatives.

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