Analysis: Five KEY questions for Maresca at Chelsea

After being crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions in the summer, Chelsea looked like they could be Premier League title contenders in 2025/26, but so far they have been unable to build on that success. Alex Keble picks out five key questions for Enzo Maresca.

If there is a theme that links the majority of the Premier League’s "Big Six" clubs in 2025/26 it is inconsistency.

Chelsea are clearly prone to that. The month of October began with victory over Liverpool and ended with a last-gasp defeat to Sunderland, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side with six points from their last five Premier League matches and ninth in the table.

Nine matches in, they have three points fewer than at the same stage last season, while Chelsea are 11th in Opta’s expected points table, with 12.3.

There are plenty of positives, not least a new threat from set-pieces, with coach Bernardo Cueva joining from Brentford, plus Chelsea are only four points off second.

But it is fair to say they have not kicked on from the Club World Cup victory in the way many had expected.

Here’s a look at five questions Maresca needs to answer if Chelsea are to recover and challenge for the title.

Should Maresca lean into direct football with more high-risk substitutions?

What was most notable about Chelsea’s two biggest results of the season so far – beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final, and beating Liverpool on 4 October – was the tactical similarity of both matches.

And neither followed the usual Maresca method. Chelsea’s man-to-man high pressing harassed both the PSG and Liverpool midfields into mistakes, before fast breaks led to goals. It was quite a long way from Maresca’s chess-inspired positional football which, broadly speaking, follows the slow and steady possession principles of Pep Guardiola.

This is a sign Maresca is willing to loosen the reins a little and lean into the more direct football that is gripping the Premier League this season.

But he could go further; Chelsea’s direct speed of 1.58 metres per second, a metric that looks at the speed at which a team move the ball towards the opponents' goal, is the lowest in the Premier League.

Chelsea arguably remain too risk-averse, especially when making substitutions. Maresca came under criticism for making conservative subs against Sunderland, withdrawing the goalscorer Alejandro Garnacho and then taking off the only recognised striker, Marc Guiu.

Against Manchester United, Maresca switched to a back five and dropped the team very deep immediately after Robert Sanchez's first-half red card, while in defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion he made consistently defensive changes, withdrawing three attackers for defenders over the course of the second half.

More urgency and more attacking dynamism is needed from Chelsea, particularly when the tide begins to turn against them in the second halves of matches.

Could a consistent back four create a solid foundation?

But attacking concerns are secondary to what’s happening in defence.

Chelsea have made nine errors leading to an opposition shot this season, the fourth-most in the division, and have conceded an Expected Goals (xG) of 13.1, the sixth-highest.

A lack of experience at the back is perhaps an issue, as we will come to, as are injuries to Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana.

But Maresca also needs to work out his best back four and give them time to gel.

So far this season, he has changed at least one member of the back four six times. Four out of eight times – or half of all matches – Maresca has changed two of his back four, and only twice has he played the same four in consecutive league games.

Chelsea's defensive changes 2025/26

Chelsea have also made 15 changes to their back four via substitutions in just nine Premier League matches this season and, not including makeshift defences that have emerged in the late stages following subs, Maresca has fielded six distinct back fours in the competition.

A defence needs time on the pitch to work out how to play together. All that chopping and changing could be contributing to haphazard defending at times.

How do Chelsea handle having league's youngest squad?

Chelsea have the youngest average age in the Premier League this season, at 24 years and 112 days, and, remarkably, Maresca has never fielded a player aged over 30.

Some argue that whether or not this is a problem depends entirely on results. Lose matches, and it looks as though inexperience or a lack of leadership is to blame, whereas winning indicates fresh ideas and youthful, fearless energy.

But one thing that is almost guaranteed with young players is inconsistency, which tracks with how Chelsea have performed under Maresca.

There aren’t any players with seniority currently being left out, which means Chelsea will need to continue this way until at least January, although judging by their transfer policy there appears to be little appetite to buy older.

Can Maresca find a consistent goalscorer in Palmer’s absence?

Cole Palmer was Chelsea’s top Premier League goalscorer last season, with 15 goals, but he is not due to return from injury until December. Their second-highest scorer, with 10, was the departed Nicolas Jackson.

Chelsea have scored 17 goals this season, the joint-most in the Premier League, so it might seem strange to highlight an attacking concern.

However, the variety of their goalscorers – a division-high 10 so far - is not necessarily a good thing.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are Chelsea’s joint-top scorers in 2025/26, with three each, and while it is good to share goals around, a clinical poacher might have helped Chelsea in games like the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, 2-1 defeat to Sunderland, or the 3-1 loss to Brighton.

Chelsea outshot their opponent in all three of those matches.

Liam Delap’s imminent return from injury is great news for Maresca, who could do with a direct runner in behind to help Chelsea attack faster.

Teenager Guiu, yet to score in the Premier League, and Joao Pedro, who prefers a deeper role, need help.

Can Chelsea improve their ability to hold onto a lead?

A goalscoring No 9 might also have helped Chelsea get a cushion when going 1-0 ahead, leading to fewer dropped points from a winning position.

Chelsea have dropped eight points from winning positions in the Premier League already this season, and six of those have been at Stamford Bridge.

A big problem has clearly been discipline. Three red cards is three times more than any other Premier League team, while five reds in all competitions (not including one in the Club World Cup) is an unsustainable record.

But Chelsea’s tendency to let a lead slip is really a mixture of all of the above. A more consistent team selection at the back would improve the defence, making a 1-0 advantage enough; greater experience in the side would aid that stability; and better attacking substitutions plus a goalscoring No 9 could increase the likelihood of those 1-0 scorelines becoming 2-0.