After being eliminated from the FA Cup in a meek 2-1 defeat against Brighton on Saturday, the head coach suggested it would leave a path clear to concentrate on the league and Conference League, with some fans fearing the attitude betrayed a lack of ambition from a club that has lifted the FA Cup six times since 2000.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says the current club is “not the same” as the one which regularly challenged for the Premier League title during the last 20 years.
The Blues were two points behind leaders Liverpool on December 22 but have collected only nine points from eight games since, bearing out Maresca’s insistence that his young side are ill-equipped to become champions for the first time since 2017.
Victory will hand a much-needed boost to their Champions League hopes and ensure they finish the weekend in the top four, but as important will be a noticeable improvement on recent performances that have laid bare Chelsea’s weakness.
They won the league and cup double in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti before lifting the cup and the Champions League in the same season in 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo.
