How Chelsea vs Liverpool will be decided by Enzo Maresca’s cunning Estevao ploy

CHELSEA come into this weekend’s headline clash against Liverpool, with pressure hanging over the head of manager Enzo Maresca.

The Blues are winless in their last three Premier League games, drawing with Brentford before defeats against Manchester United and Brighton.

Tactically – as SunSport’s tactics guru Dean Scoggins breaks down on our show Tactics Exposed – there aren’t many secrets to how Maresca wants his team to set up.

He wants to play a 3-2-5 shape with a box midfield, which helps both the rest defence stay more secure if they are counterattacked against and gives them additional players in the key areas in the attacking phases.

That also helps Enzo Fernandez, who is an incredible player thanks to his tactical flexibility.

But without a creative maverick like Cole Palmer – who is set to be sidelined for two to three weeks – the Blues have lost some of their flair and danger.

And it begs the question, how do you cope without Palmer? Well, Maresca should have the bravery to go and take a risk by playing Estevao there.

Playing the 18-year-old, despite being very young and very raw, would mean Chelsea doesn’t need to rip up their game plan and change anything with their box formation.

Fernandez and Marc Cucurella work very well together, and keeping them together by ensuring the £105million man is not the focal point of attack will free him up to perform at his industrious best.

Estevao has the technical ability to perform the role, and most importantly, he is capable of those moments of magic which make a player special.

Using him as a direct replacement for Palmer instead of changing the entire team would tick all the boxes for Chelsea going into one of the biggest games of the season.

Liverpool have not exactly been ripping up trees this season either.

The champions lead the Premier League but have won many of their games through late winners or sensational strikes, covering up displays which have often been below the levels we saw last season.

Saturday’s clash at Stamford Bridge will be a real litmus test for both sides for how their seasons could pan out going forward.