Chelsea have confirmed that their Under-21 head coach, Calum McFarlane, will take charge of the first team for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Manchester City.
The club made the announcement following the departure of former head coach Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day.
Speaking at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground ahead of the game, McFarlane described the sudden change as intense but said his focus remains on preparing the team for the tough test at the Etihad Stadium.
“The last 24 hours have been a crazy whirlwind,” McFarlane said.
“We don’t know what the future beyond this game is, but right now the brief is just to prepare the lads for Man City on Sunday.”
He added that the team would approach the match with belief despite the challenge of facing Pep Guardiola’s side.
“We will go there looking to give a good account of ourselves and trying to obtain a good result,” he said.
McFarlane also acknowledged the strength of the reigning champions but expressed confidence in his squad.
“We know we will be facing a good team, in good form and led by a great manager. But we have good players too, and we will be going into the game being as positive as possible,” he stated.
On the injury situation, the interim coach gave an update on left-back Marc Cucurella, who missed Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in their last league outing.
“With Marc, it is positive that he’s back in training and we will see with him,” McFarlane said.
“We’re undecided on whether he will play. I don’t have the full information on him as of yet. Otherwise, we don’t have any other updates on players at the moment.”
Chelsea will be hoping to begin 2026 on a positive note when they face Manchester City on Sunday under McFarlane’s temporary leadership.
