Chelsea hope for Palmer’s fitness as Arsenal sweat over Rice

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca hopes to have Cole Palmer fit and raring to go when they face Arsenal in a Premier League London derby after the playmaker injured his knee in the draw with Manchester United last weekend, reports Reuters.

Palmer has started this season with seven goals and five assists in 10 Premier League games, helping to lift Chelsea up to fourth in the standings.
Palmer was not registered in Chelsea’s Conference League squad for the group stages, which meant he did not play in Thursday’s 8-0 win over Noah, but the 22-year-old has not trained this week.

“Cole is getting better, but because he can walk and have dinner doesn’t mean he is completely fit,” Maresca said.
“He is getting better and we still have two days to prepare for the game. Hopefully, we can have him for a session — at least on Saturday — and then we take a decision.”

Arsenal are level with Chelsea on 18 points as the north London side look to get out of a slump and gain a foothold in the title race with Liverpool and Manchester City surging ahead.

“I like to get pressure from these kinds of games. The pressure is also for us. For sure, they are the closest one with City. Both I consider better than the rest,” Maresca said.

“The reason is because one club is working with the same manager for nine years and the other one is working with the same manager for five years. This is a big advantage compared to the rest.

“But we’re going to try to make life difficult for them on Sunday.”
Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-0 in their last meeting before Maresca took charge and the Italian said he is wary of their set-piece threat.

“Mentally it will be very tough. Set pieces, they are very good. I watched the Champions League game against Inter Milan and every corner was smelling of a goal,” Maresca said.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are weighing up whether Declan Rice can play through the pain after tests revealed he had a broken toe, sources have told ESPN.

Rice sustained the injury in Arsenal’s Premier League defeat at Newcastle last weekend and subsequently missed their midweek 1-0 Champions League loss at Inter Milan.

Mikel Arteta’s side travel to Chelsea on Sunday, and a source has told ESPN that Rice is hopeful of being able to manage the issue and start at Stamford Bridge in a game of huge significance to Arsenal.

The north London side are seven points behind leaders Liverpool and five adrift of defending champions Manchester City. Another defeat — which would be their fourth in seven games across all competitions — would be a damaging blow to their title hopes.

“I have to be very vague on that one because there’s no clarity if he’s going to be fit or not on the weekend. That’s for the doctor. What I can say is he hasn’t trained yet and it’s not clear if he’ll be available or not to play,” Arteta said at a news conference on Friday.

Rice has also been named in Lee Carsley’s latest England squad for upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and Republic of Ireland. It remains to be seen whether Rice actually joins up with the group at St. George’s Park but the source told ESPN that the 25-year-old is keen to continue representing club and country if his body allows.