English Premier League Updates: Cole Palmer Set for The Blues Return; Idrissa Gueye's Unsuccessful Red Card Appeal Mystery
First Story: Top Player Palmer Available for Crucial London Clash with Arsenal
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca confirmed on Friday that Cole Palmer is set to return for the squad's significant Premier League encounter against local rivals Arsenal.
The 23-year-old English international had been sidelined due to a broken toe suffered after an accidental incident.
“He is fit to begin and feature,” Maresca said. “Everyone is happy.”
In the current campaign, Palmer has made only four appearances in every contest, netting two goals.
After joining from Manchester City in 2023, he has achieved 45 goals and 29 assists in 101 appearances for the London club.
“He is our top performer, we are delighted he is back, we need to provide him with time to be completely ready,” Maresca added. “He has done fantastic in the past and no doubt he is going to do great things for this club in the future.”
Second Story: The Toffees Get No Explanation for Failed Idrissa Gueye Red Card Challenge
The Merseyside club have failed in their challenge against Idrissa Gueye's sending off for a physical confrontation with teammate Michael Keane during the team's 1-0 victory at Manchester United.
The 36-year-old Senegal midfielder was shown a red card just 13 minutes into the game after slapping Keane amid a dispute over a poor pass.
Gueye quickly said sorry, and the teammates appeared making up afterwards in a light-hearted online post.
However, the appeal against the red card was rejected, and Gueye must complete a three-game suspension, leaving Everton shorthanded for their next fixture against Newcastle.
“We lodged an appeal and it was unsuccessful,” manager the manager stated. “We haven’t been given any reason why it was turned down but we did appeal it.”
Inquired about any further fallout from the event, Moyes remarked: “The matter was resolved instantly, it was done, that was it, we progressed swiftly and it was all sorted within the team environment.”
Third Story: Yoane Wissa Practices with The Magpies for First Time since Injury
Newcastle United's recent acquisition Yoane Wissa has trained with his new teammates for the first time since sustaining a knee injury soon after his arrival from his former club in the autumn.
Manager Eddie Howe confirmed the news on Friday but withheld a potential comeback timeline for the player.
The team signed the striker for £55m to fill the void left by Alexander Isak, who moved to Liverpool for a record-breaking transfer fee.
Regrettably, Wissa was injured while on national team service before he could make his debut for Newcastle.
“He is progressing nicely, he trained with us for the first time on Wednesday, so I was really pleased with how he looked,” Howe said. “That’s his first time competitively with the group. Let’s see how he reacts today.”
Howe continued: “There is a planned comeback timeline, but it’s likely best if I do not share it publicly. We aim to avoid letting people down. Naturally, we want to involve him as soon as possible.”
In other news, Kieran Trippier will be out of action for a month with a hamstring issue.
4. The Reds' Slump ‘Irrelevant’, Says Hammers Manager Nuno
The Hammers head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has claimed that the reigning champions' current slump “doesn’t really matter” as his team gets ready to take on the ailing Premier League champions.
The Liverpool manager's team has lost six of the last seven league games, falling out of the upper half of the table.
Nevertheless, Nuno stressed that there can be no taking it easy when the teams clash on Sunday at the their home ground.
“Liverpool are a quality side and in football, what counts is what you do on the day,” Nuno commented. “So what we expect is the champions of the Premier League, players that are skilled and capable of doing good things, so we have to prepare.
“The past of the results before, the performance of the teams, is not that important. It is about the match day. Aware that we are going to face a high-quality team, that has players capable of doing fantastic things, so we have to get ready, to challenge.”
West Ham will have available Lucas Paquetá after his ban, while Crysencio Summerville and Dinos Mavropanos are stepping up their return from injury.
5. Morgan Gibbs-White Could Feature for Nottingham Forest against The Seagulls
The club's manager Sean Dyche is hopeful that Morgan Gibbs-White will be fit for the team's home fixture against Brighton on the weekend.
The England player missed the midweek Europa League game against the Swedish side due to a back injury.
“We hope it is improving,” Dyche commented as he got ready to face Fabian Hürzeler's team, who have secured seven points from their past three matches.
“It’s comparable to back pain, but a morning sort of injury, one where you just sleep funny or move improperly. So we’re not expecting, at this point anyway, that it’s very severe and it’s settling down already. So we’re confident that it’ll be fine for the weekend.”
The defender was experiencing discomfort in his hamstring muscle after the comfortable European win, but Dyche indicated the player “should be fine”.
Meanwhile, the full-back (thigh injury), the midfielder (thigh), Dilane Bakwa (hamstring), the striker (knee), and Oleksandr Zinchenko (hip) are likely to miss out.
6. Oliver Glasner: Conference League Loss Will Not Hinder Palace
The Eagles manager Oliver Glasner feels that the disappointment of midweek's European defeat to the French side is a sign of how much progress the team has come in challenging on two fronts.
The domestic cup holders took the lead at Stade de la Meinau through Tyrick Mitchell's opening period goal but were equalized against by the opposition manager's side, who moved up to second in the table.
Crystal Palace now return to Premier League competition with a home match against Manchester United, and Glasner is optimistic his team can maintain their push for a top four place.
“Similar to the late loss against Everton, it just feels that it was completely unnecessary and it is our fault,” Glasner said. “Alternatively, we have to take it on the chin. The effort was there but it is a game we could have avoided losing.”
Glasner stated that Borna Sosa would miss out for Sunday's match after he stayed behind to Strasbourg, but Will Hughes, who was substituted during the first half against the opponents, should be in the team selection.