Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea squad put in their final preparations at Cobham on Friday before departing for Leicester ahead of tomorrow's Premier League away day at the King Power Stadium.
With almost a full squad to work with, Reece James the only confirmed absentee for Saturday's 12.30pm kick-off against Leicester City, the Blues were hard at work on the training pitch getting ready for our first match since the conclusion of the international break.
They then boarded the team bus to begin their journey to the East Midlands, ahead of an early start tomorrow for the Premier League's lunch-time kick-off at the King Power Stadium. It is a destination which will be familiar to Maresca and some of his squad.
We take on the newly promoted Foxes for the first time since the Italian was sat in their dugout for an FA Cup tie last season, when the Italian also guided them to a top-flight return as Championship winners, with a team which featured current Blues Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei, while Wesley Fofana is another player heading back to his former club.
‘First of all I am excited and also thankful because it was a fantastic season,' said Enzo, discussing his emotions ahead of tomorrow's return to Leicester. 'I met people there that it’s very difficult to find in football.
‘It was a fantastic season first because I met good people and then in terms of players it was top. There was a fantastic connection between the players and the staff and this is something you also need to create when you want to reach something important.
‘I will be thankful all my life to that squad. I’m still in contact with most of them, we have a special connection. It was a fantastic season for me.’
Of course, as training at Cobham today showed, Maresca and his squad are fully focused on the task at hand, namely taking on Leicester in a potentially tricky away trip to bring all three points back to west London.
‘Absolutely this is not an easy game. You can see week after week that it’s always complicated. No matter which team you are, or where you are in the table, you struggle,' added the Blues head coach.
‘But we are going to try to make sure we are focused and we are prepared in the best way to go and try to win.’