The surface at the 3Arena – dry and hard – more closely resembles the artificial covering one might find on a green grocer’s market stall, though Nkunku will be spared its trepidations, having been left in London with a knock as a precaution. Yet Maresca insists that, despite his concerns, he has little choice but to risk his first-team players, with Sunday’s crucial league meeting with Liverpool an afterthought for now.
