Enzo Maresca confirms Chelsea star will start vs Manchester United as player ruled out

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that one of his star players will start against Manchester United as Chelsea travel north in the Premier League.

Manchester United are ready to return to Premier League action with Chelsea set to visit Old Trafford on Sunday.

In their last league fixture, the Reds narrowly lost 2-1 to West Ham after a disputed penalty decision, which led to Erik ten Hag’s departure from the club.

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Ruud van Nistelrooy is now in charge as interim manager, while Rúben Amorim is expected to take the reins after the November international break.

United recently secured an impressive 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, advancing to the quarter-finals, where they’ll face Tottenham Hotspur in London.

Palmer to start

When the two sides met last season, Cole Palmer was handed the Player of the Match award as he scored a hattrick in a 4-3 win over United at Stamford Bridge, including two goals in extra time to win the tie.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca confirmed that Palmer will play against United, likely in the No. 10 role as he has done so far this campaign.

“I hope so,” the Argentinian manager explained when asked if he thinks Palmer will be able to reproduce his display against United again. “He is going to play.

“Cole is doing very good all of the time. If we expect 20 goals and 20 assists again, it’s probably wrong because we don’t need to put the pressure on his shoulders.”

Sancho unavailable anyway

Jadon Sancho made the switch from United to Chelsea in the summer, signing for the London club on a season-long loan with an option to buy for the Blues.

However, this option to buy for between £20-25 million becomes an obligation if they finish higher than 14th in the league, and increases depending on their final position in the table.

Sancho would not have been able to play against United int he Premier LEague due to his loan, but Maresca confirmed that the player is unavailable through illness anyway.

When asked about team news, he said that he has a full squad available bar Sancho. “They are all available apart from Jadon. He has been ill in the last days.”

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