Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has backed Nicolas Jackson to make amends for his recent error in judgment during Wednesday's Conference League final against Real Betis.
Jackson missed the final two Premier League games of the season courtesy of a red card that he received versus Newcastle United on May 11.
In his absence, the Blues managed to respond with pivotal 1-0 victories over Manchester United and Nottingham Forest that ultimately secured Champions League qualification.
While Jackson has only played 117 minutes of Conference League football this season across three appearances, Maresca has already acknowledged that the Senegal international will lead the line in Wroclaw on Wednesday night.
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"In debt with his teammates"
Although Maresca initially indicated that he disagreed with the decision to send off Jackson at St James' Park for a stray forearm on Sven Botman, he has since admitted that his striker made a mistake.
That sentiment was also echoed by Reece James in Tuesday's press conference, but Maresca is hopeful that the often-criticised frontman can showcase his ability against their La Liga opponents.
The Italian told reporters, as quoted by football.london: "I hope so because I think Nico is in debt with his teammates. And the reason why is because in that moment, Newcastle away was for us the most important game. And he left his teammates with ten players for one hour.
"So for sure he's in debt. For sure he's a good guy. For sure he recognised the mistake. He apologised to his teammates. That is very important. And I'm sure that tomorrow he's going to do a very good game for us."
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Why will Jackson start against Betis?
Prior to the Forest game on Sunday, Maresca had already acknowledged that there would need to be some level of rotation, regardless of whether Chelsea had needed to beat Betis to qualify for the Europa League.
With Champions League football already secured, Maresca can afford to reward many of the squad players who have contributed to the run to the final with starting roles.
Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu would have both been ahead of Jackson in the Conference League pecking order had they been fully fit, but Nkunku has not featured since the middle of April and Guiu only returned to the squad after a long absence on Sunday.
Tyrique George - another alternative down the middle of the attack - will also likely be deployed in a wide role, leaving Jackson to play in his usual central position.
Jackson has netted just three times since December, those strikes coming in the space of five days against Everton and Djurgardens IF between April 26 and May 1.
Darren Plant
