Enzo Maresca sends defiant Chelsea message to Liverpool as Arne Slot plan becomes clear

Chelsea travel to Liverpool this weekend as head coach Enzo Maresca looks to build on his side's impressive start to the season against the current Premier League leaders

Enzo Maresca has admitted Chelsea are likely to "struggle" at Anfield on Sunday afternoon but the Blues head coach is not altering his ideas to take on Liverpool.

The Reds are top of the Premier League table going into the weekend with six victories and one defeat from their opening seven matches of the 2024/25 season under newly-appointed head coach Arne Slot. Taking over from Jurgen Klopp in the summer, what we have seen from Liverpool on the pitch has been virtually a seamless transition - making Sunday's game that extra bit more difficult for Chelsea and Maresca.

The Blues, though, are in good form themselves. Despite drawing with Nottingham Forest before the international break - a result that put a bit of a dampener on a really positive start to life at Stamford Bridge for Maresca - the west Londoners find themselves in fourth-place in the top-flight table prior to the trip to Merseyside.

That is why the Italian is adamant and determined his Chelsea team will play the same sort of football at Liverpool on Sunday - and will not change their idea just because of the level of opposition they are playing.

"As you said it's a nice environment. Anfield is fantastic, but we're going to try and go there, play our football and try to get points," Maresca told the Stadium Astro YouTube channel.

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"We try always. As I said sometimes we plan the game but also the other team plan the game, so sometimes you struggle a little bit more, sometimes not. But in the end it's important, the intention of the team has to be the same."

Maresca led his team to three victories in September out of just four matches in the Premier League. The Italian picked up the Premier League Manager of the Month award, while Cole Palmer, who scored an astonishing four goals in the win against Brighton in the last game of September, received the Player of the Month trophy.

"It's nice but you receive that because of the players," Maresca said on winning his first personal accolade as Chelsea boss. "And because you win games but you cannot win games without players. We are very happy because that means we did a good month in September.

"It's only the beginning. Hopefully we can continue going the same way."

On Palmer, the Chelsea head coach added: "He is winning so many awards, personal awards - and hopefully we can achieve something together. All the players can do better, they can all improve and Cole, for sure, is one of them; even if it is already a high level."

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