Maresca targets top-four finish for Chelsea

Enzo Maresca is targeting a top-four finish and is confident his Chelsea side will bounce back from a poor run of results.

The Blues have slipped to sit sixth in the Premier League table, having won just two of their six games so far in 2025.

Speaking ahead of a tough trip to high-flying Aston Villa, head coach Maresca insisted that injuries are the main reason behind Chelsea’s recent struggles.

Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia and Marc Guiu have all been sidelined.  

“We have said many times, I think we spent almost all of the season in the top four, and with 13 games to go, the target, for sure, is top four,” Maresca said.

“We will try our best to achieve that. The difficult moment we have now, one of the most important reasons why is because of the injury situation – we have five or six significant players out.

“I was watching back the first game against Villa, and unfortunately we have five players from that game out. The team has changed completely. We’re going to try our best to win games with the amount of injuries we have.

“We have the same manager, players and sporting directors we had two months ago, nothing has changed. The only thing that changed is that, unfortunately, we are dealing with many injuries.”

Maresca went on to suggest that his players are ‘upset’ amid a poor run of form, but that he expects them to grow from the experience.

“We are not happy with the results we have in this moment. We are all aware we are in a club that is not here to survive. We are here to help this club win games and win titles,” he said.

“I’ve tried to convince the players that they are the same players who for many games, for 19, 20 games, they were second. Now it’s a bad run, we need to deal with that and embrace that.

“After this moment they will be better players and better professionals.”

The Italian also urged fans to get behind the team for the final few months of the season, and believes that winning all of their remaining home Premier League fixtures will be enough to secure a top-four spot.

He said: “We are sure with the fans behind us we can achieve our targets.

“We have 13 games to go until the end, seven at home. I think winning seven at home will be enough to finish top four.

“We have mentioned many times in the dressing room, especially after games at home, when you can hear the fans behind you, pushing you, it’s a nice feeling.

“We appreciate the fans behind us, and ask for them to be with us until the end, and I’m sure we’re going to finish happy.”