Enzo Maresca may be over in the United States right now, but he has at least been able to begin planning Chelsea’s 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
The Blues will get underway with a home game against Crystal Palace, and will not leave London for the four opening fixtures before a trip to Manchester United.
Chelsea fans are confident after hearing their opening games, and can be excited about how well they started under Maresca in his first season at the club.
The Christmas period is where the Blues dropped off though, and their start to 2025 suffered as a result. This season, they will also have to contend with the African Cup of Nations.
Nicolas Jackson set to miss Chelsea’s trip to Man City next season
Nicolas Jackson is expected to be selected for Senegal for the competition, which is due to start on December 21 and conclude on January 18.
While it is unclear how many games he could miss as a result of this, the Blues play six games in the time the tournament is going, including one big fixture in particular.
Chelsea are set to travel to Manchester City in their first game of 2026, and they are now set to be without Jackson for the meeting.
The pressure will be on Liam Delap to deliver against his former club, and make up for the impact the Senegal international has had in games against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Jackson’s impressive record vs Man City
Jackson has lined up four times against City in the two seasons he has been in the Premier League, finding the net in the thrilling 4-4 draw in 2023.
He has also provided two assists in games at the Etihad, including for Noni Madueke in the 2-1 defeat this season.
No matter how much criticism there has been of Jackson and his ability to find the net, one thing that has never been doubted is how he can bring the best out of the players around him in attack.
Maresca will need to find a way to work around the absence of the striker for the big game, with Delap likely being handed the chance to prove those who let him go wrong.
