Chelsea’s preparations for their return to Premier League action hit a bump in the road as the Blues first-team lost to their under-21 side. Manager Enzo Maresca has responded by cancelling a planned day off, it has been claimed.. Maresca’s side lost three of their last five league games going into the international break. Their only wins in that period came against relegation-battling Southampton and Leicester, with Arsenal handing them a 1-0 defeat last time out.. Another London derby is on the horizon, with Chelsea up against Spurs on April 3. They aren’t involved in the FA Cup this weekend, having lost away at Brighton in the fourth round.. According to The Athletic (via Mirror) a number of Chelsea’s players not involved for their national sides took on an Under-21s side which included some under-16 starlets. It had been described as a training exercise rather than a full match, but the youngsters ran out 3-0 winners after a brace from teenage forward Donnell McNeilly.. The same publication indicated Maresca had planned to give Thursday off before ramping up preparations for the Spurs game. However, the Italian is said to have changed his mind.. Chelsea have struggled in the immediate aftermath of the March international breaks in recent seasons. The Blues were hammered 5-2 at home to Wesr Bromwich Albion at the corresponding stage of the 2020-21 season, amd 4-1 at home to Brentford 12 months later.. They also lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa in their first game after the March 2023 international break, in what proved to be Graham Potter’s final match in charge. Last season’s first game back ended in a 2-2 draw with a Burnley side who would go on to suffer relegation, despite the Clarets playing with 10 men for the entire second half.. Maresca is expected to welcome back a number of first-teamers after injury when his team takes on Tottenham. Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke could return after not being fit enough to feature for England, while Marc Guiu and Nicolas Jackson are working their way back after picking up injuries in early February.. Many of on international duty have since returned, though they didn’t feature against the Under-21s. Reece James was among the goals for England during their World Cup qualifier against Latvia, but there were later returns for Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo after their long flights back from South America.. Chelsea will follow their match against Spurs with a match against Brentford on Sunday, with their Conference League campaign getting back underway on April 10. They are due to face Legia Warszawa in the quarter-finals, with the winners of the two-legged tie progressing to face either Djurgardens or Rapid Wien.
