Chelsea could be without Cole Palmer again when they make the short trip to Brentford in the Premier League this evening.
Palmer has missed his side’s last two games, withdrawing from the starting XI ahead of kick-off against West Ham United before sitting out altogether against the Cottagers with a groin issue.
Having also been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, there was no sign of Palmer in Chelsea training at the start of the week.
The former Manchester City star has been nursing a groin issue for a while, with the Chelsea boss explaining last week he is being assessed ‘day by day’.
Speaking on Friday, Maresca was hopeful Palmer would return to training that afternoon but the England international remains a big doubt ahead of kick-off today.
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Joao Pedro dropped into a slightly deeper role in Palmer’s absence as part of an attacking reshuffle with Liam Delap leading the line in Chelsea’s last two games.
A hamstring injury that is expected to sideline the former Ipswich star for 10 weeks however means the Brazil international is now the sole option up top – in electric form with two goals and two assists to far this term.
Esetevao Willian and Pedro Neto have been Maresca’s wide options of choice but the arrival of Alejandro Garnacho offers another.
The Argentina international has spent the week at Cobham getting up to speed and will be eager to impress at the Gtech Stadium.
Maresca said on Friday the winger is ‘not 100 per cent fit’ having had no pre-season at United in the summer but could still make an appearance off the bench.
There has been one causality during the international break with Dario Essugo sent home from the Portugal Under-21 squad with a thigh injury, since undergoing surgery.
Chesea XI to face Brentford – Metro prediction
All eyes will be on whether Palmer is deemed fit enough to feature this afternoon. He remains a huge doubt but Maresca will be desperate to get him involved.
Maresca might be tempted to drop Garnacho straight into side but Estevao and Neto will feel they have done enough to keep their places.
Brentford vs Chelsea TV channel and kick-off time
Brentford vs Chelsea takes place on Saturday 13 September with kick-off scheduled for 8pm.
You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with streaming also available through the Sky Go app and NOW TV for subscribers.
You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE blog.