Chelsea boss makes Cole Palmer absence admission ahead of Nottingham Forest showdown
Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest are preparing to face Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge
by Sarah Clapson · NottinghamshireLiveChelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has dismissed suggestions his team are too reliant on the in-form Cole Palmer ahead of this weekend’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
Palmer became the first player to score four first-half goals in a Premier League game as the Blues toppled Brighton and Hove Albion 4-2 last Saturday. It took his tally for the campaign so far up to six, while he also has four assists.
Finding a way to stop the England international will be key for Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds if they are to come away with a result at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (2pm kick-off). And there is no danger of Palmer being worn-out for the clash as he will not feature against Gent in the Europa Conference League this evening (Thursday).
"No. It is not about reliance,” Maresca said in his pre-match press conference when he was asked whether the Gent game is a chance to show Chelsea can cope without their talisman. “We have already played some games without Cole.
“For sure, for us or any team in the world, Cole is an extra, something that you need. But we also need to protect some players. They need that. It’s not because we try to protect Cole, (Romeo) Lavia or (Wesley) Fofana for some... it's for a reason. I think Cole needs that."
Palmer was not included when Chelsea submitted their Europa Conference League squad to UEFA a month ago. It means he is ineligible to feature in the group stages, with the decision taken with load management in mind.
According to our sister title Football.London, the Blues were mindful of exposing the 22-year-old to too much game time this term after he played 45 matches for the club in 2023/24. Lavia and Fofana have also been left out of the Europa squad for the same reason.
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Maresca is expected to ring the changes for the tie. He is, therefore, not too concerned about the quick turnaround for Sunday’s meeting with Nuno’s men.
"This is not just the Conference, it is also the Europa League and now even the Champions League,” he said of the busy schedule. “When we played Servette away, we arrived here at 4am on the Friday and then played on the Sunday against Palace. But we need to adapt.”
Nuno will have spent this week hatching a plan to try to quell the threat of Palmer, in particular. Since the start of last term, no other player has recorded more goal contributions in the Premier League, with last weekend’s efforts putting him on 28 goals and 15 assists in total. His form has played a key role in the Blues winning four matches on the bounce in all competitions.
Forest might adopt a similar approach to last month’s Liverpool game. On that occasion, Nuno packed the centre of the pitch to keep it tight for an hour or so then introduced attacking players from the bench. It worked a treat as Anthony Elanga set up fellow substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi to score the only goal of the game.