Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca issues praise for 'unlucky' Newcastle United as he makes 'deserve' claim

Newcastle United have found themselves a fan in Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca who has expressed his admiration for the Magpies and feels they have been ‘unlucky’ in recent games.

Eddie Howe takes his side to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, aiming to end a run of four Premier League games without a win. Their winless run started with a 3-1 loss at Fulham followed by draws with Manchester City and Everton. Then, last weekend, they returned from the international break against Brighton and Hove Albion but lost 1-0 despite having more than double the amount of shots than their opponents.

Maresca took over at Chelsea during the summer and has enjoyed a positive start to life at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues only two Premier League defeats coming against reigning champions Manchester City and Liverpool - who were top of the Premier League after every side had played eight games. Looking ahead to this weekend’s clash with Newcastle, Maresca warned that things can quickly turn for sides in a ‘difficult moment’. He said: “Newcastle are very clear: they are physically strong, they are very good. They have been unlucky, especially in the last game against Brighton, but overall they have deserved more points and the way they work over the years together is quite clear. I really like Newcastle and probably this is the moment when teams can do something good when they are in a difficult moment.”

Chelsea are being tipped as favourites for the clash but despite only losing to Man City and Liverpool so far, Maresca was keen to point out that there were no easy games in the Premier League as he highlighted Bournemouth’s surprise win over Arsenal - and Wolves battling performance against City, which required a 95th-minute goal from John Stones to clinch all three points. He continued: “In the end, we have to play against every team. Now we have played Liverpool and we have games against Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal, but I also thought in the previous games against teams like Bournemouth and Wolves that it showed the Premier League is always tough. You can see that with teams like Bournemouth and Wolves last weekend. It is very difficult against all the teams so game-by-game we are going to do our best.”

The Magpies have had longer to prepare for Sunday’s Premier League encounter, after Chelsea were in Europa Conference League action against Panathinaikos on Thursday night. Maresca’s side won 4-1 in Greece although there are likely to be several changes to his starting line-up this weekend.

“The most important thing is no matter how many players we change, you can see the identity of the team,” said Maresca after the victory. “The identity is quite clear. What we want is exactly what they’re doing; taking the chance when we give it to them. Tonight once again they showed that.”

Sunday’s game is the first of back-to-back matches between the teams, with Newcastle hosting the Blues on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup round of 16.