The FA Cup third round brings together League Two side Morecambe and the Blues in a game that could see the return of captain James and Lavia as they return from injury. Speaking in his latest press conference, Maresca revealed the pair are both available and are likely to start the game.
“Yes Reece and Romeo are both available and hopefully they can get some minutes for tomorrow’s game,” Maresca confirmed.
“The rest are all available for selection other than those that were already injured from before. Benoit Badiashile and Wesley (Fofana) are out and Keirnan (Dewsbury-Hall) is still injured, so he won’t be involved.”
The Italian head coach also spoke on the significance of the cup and how Chelsea are heading into it with silverware on their mind as they look to win the competition for the first time since 2018.
“The FA Cup is very important,” said Maresca. “It’s another competition and as I’ve said since the start, we want to do well in every competition - whether that’s the Premier League, the Conference League, the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup.
“Tomorrow’s game against Morecambe is no different, we go to win like we do every match. It’s an important competition because it has so much history and culture attached to it.
“We are prepared for the game and I know a lot about Morecambe now because we’ve watched many of their videos to be ready for tomorrow.”