Enzo Maresca says he will give Ruud van Nistelrooy “a big hug” before Chelsea take on Manchester United in the Premier League.
The Blues Face Manchester United on Sunday only new Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim will not take charge until November 11, which means that Van Nistelrooy will have interim responsibility.
Maresca played for Van Nistelrooy in Malaga and is looking forward to a reunion this weekend.
“All the best to him (Amorim). If those in charge made that decision, it’s because they think it’s the right one. All the best to him and Manchester United.
“I haven’t spoken to Ruud. I’ll give him a big hug on Sunday before the game.
“He’s a fantastic guy, humble, very professional. I shared time with him when he was ready, but even then you could see how good he was.
Maresca is without Jadon Sancho – who is on loan from Man Utd – and has no other absentees ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, where Chelsea have not won since 2013.
Chelsea that they want to bounce back from their Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United.
“We prepared the match to win, but unfortunately we lost,” Maresca said. “We prepare every match to try to win.
“The reason we are making changes is because we are all one team, they deserve to play.”
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One player who has been out of the side in the Premier League but started the 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
“The idea was to try it with Kiernan too,” Maresca said when quizzed about Dewsbury-Hall’s role against Newcastle.
“We are playing a different format against Newcastle to try to get a little more control of the game. The plan was there and then we conceded a goal, in 10 minutes we lost the match. It could be an idea for the future.”
Moises Caicedo has been excellent in midfield for the Blues this season and forms a nice partnership with Romeo Lavia, who keeps Dewsbury-Hall and Enzo Fernandez out of the team.
“First of all, it’s a matter of balance,” Maresca added. “Right now Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is why we found the option with Malo in your pocket.
‘I’m showing frustration with Enzo? I show frustration for all of them. Don’t just look at Enzo. I still trust Enzo. There is no reason why I can lose faith in him.
“The reason he is not playing in the Premier League is because I make a different decision, but I have 100% confidence in him.
“I like to say that we don’t have an A-team or a B-team. There are players who are fantastic players, but for me we don’t have indispensable players.
“If Cole (Palmer) doesn’t play, we play Joao (Felix) and if Nico (Jackson) doesn’t play, we play Christo (Christopher Nkunku).
“The reason why we change players is because they are all good. Some of them are better than the rest, but that doesn’t mean they’re always the ones going to play.
“You look for a number of different reasons for Enzo, but it’s simple: he’s not playing at the moment, but we have so many games in the future, so that doesn’t mean he’s not going to play.”
Asked whether Cole Palmer will perform against Man Utd after scoring a hat-trick against them last season, Maresca said: “I hope so. He’s going to play. Cole always does very well.
“If we expect 20 goals and 20 assists again, that’s probably wrong because we don’t need to put pressure on him.”
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