Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed on the final weekday that Cole Palmer is ready to play for the team's important top-flight match against local opponents Arsenal.
The young England midfielder had been sidelined due to a fractured toe suffered after an accidental incident.
“He is available to start and to play,” Maresca declared. “The whole team is delighted.”
In the current campaign, Palmer has featured in just four games in every contest, finding the net on two occasions.
Since his arrival from City in 2023, he has recorded 45 goals and 29 assists in 101 games for Chelsea.
“He is our top performer, we are pleased he is back, we need to provide him with time to be fully fit,” Maresca continued. “He has been brilliant historically and no doubt he is going to do very good for this club in the future.”
The Merseyside club were unsuccessful in their protest against Idrissa Gueye's red card for a physical confrontation with teammate Michael Keane during the squad's single-goal triumph at Manchester United.
The veteran Senegal midfielder was dismissed just early on into the match after hitting Keane amid a dispute over a misplaced pass.
Gueye quickly said sorry, and the teammates appeared reconciled later in a light-hearted social media video.
However, the appeal against the dismissal was rejected, and Gueye must complete a three-game suspension, making Everton short-staffed for their next match against Newcastle.
“We have appealed it and our appeal was turned down,” coach David Moyes stated. “We received no rationale for the denial but we did appeal it.”
When asked about any further fallout from the incident, Moyes added: “It ended right away, it was done, that was it, we moved on swiftly and it was all sorted within the dressing room.”
The club's new acquisition Yoane Wissa has practiced with his new teammates for the initial occasion since sustaining a knee problem soon after his arrival from his former club in the autumn.
Manager Eddie Howe announced the development on the end of the week but did not disclose a possible comeback timeline for the 29-year-old.
The team signed the striker for £55m to replace Alexander Isak, who moved to Liverpool for a British record transfer fee.
Unfortunately, Wissa was injured while on national team duty before he could make his debut for Newcastle.
“He is doing well, he trained with us for the first time on midweek, so I was extremely satisfied with how he looked,” Howe stated. “That’s his first time competitively with the group. Let’s see how he responds today.”
The manager continued: “We’ve got [a return date] in mind, but it’s probably best if I keep that to myself. We wish to prevent any disappointment. Naturally, we want to involve him as soon as possible.”
In other news, the defender will be sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury.
The Hammers manager Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that the reigning champions' recent poor form “doesn’t really matter” as his team prepares to take on the ailing Premier League title holders.
The Liverpool manager's side has lost six of the last seven league games, dropping out of the upper half of the standings.
However, Nuno highlighted that there can be no taking it easy when the teams clash on the weekend at the their home ground.
“The Reds are a strong team and in football, what matters is what you do on the day,” Nuno remarked. “We are preparing to play the title winners, players that are talented and able of doing good things, so we have to get ready.
“The history of the outcomes before, the performance of the teams, doesn’t really matter. It is about the match day. Knowing that we are going to face a high-quality team, that has players able of doing amazing feats, so we have to get ready, to perform.”
The Hammers will welcome back Lucas Paquetá after his suspension, while Crysencio Summerville and Dinos Mavropanos are progressing in their recovery from fitness issues.
Nottingham Forest's boss Sean Dyche is optimistic that Morgan Gibbs-White will be ready for the side's home match against Brighton on Sunday.
The England international missed Thursday's Europa League match against the Swedish side due to a back issue.
“Fortunately, it seems to be calming down,” Dyche commented as he prepared to face Fabian Hürzeler's team, who have taken seven points from their last three outings.
“It’s comparable to back pain, but a waking-up sort of injury, one where you just rest awkwardly or twist funny. So we’re not anticipating, at this stage anyway, that it’s too serious and it’s easing already. So we’re confident that it’ll be fine for the weekend.”
Murillo was feeling his hamstring after the comfortable European win, but Dyche indicated the player “will likely be available”.
Meanwhile, Ola Aina (thigh injury), the midfielder (thigh), Dilane Bakwa (hamstring), Chris Wood (knee), and the defender (hip) are expected to be unavailable.
The Eagles head coach Oliver Glasner feels that the disappointment of midweek's European defeat to the French side is a indication of how far the club has come in challenging on two fronts.
The domestic cup winners went ahead at the away ground through Tyrick Mitchell's first-half goal but were equalized against by Liam Rosenior's side, who climbed to runner-up in the table.
The Eagles now return to Premier League competition with a at Selhurst Park fixture against the Red Devils, and Glasner is confident his team can keep up their push for a Champions League place.
“Maybe like the late defeat at Everton, it just feels that it was totally avoidable and it is our fault,” Glasner said. “On the other side, we have to accept it. The commitment was there but it is a game we could have avoided losing.”
Glasner confirmed that Borna Sosa would miss out for Sunday's match after he stayed behind to France, but Will Hughes, who was substituted during the opening period against the opponents, should be in the matchday squad.
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
