Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that he is struggling to keep all of his talent happy ahead of their game against Leicester on Saturday.

The Blues' first-team squad page listed 43 players at the start of the season, with 10 players having joined over the summer.

As a result, this has meant limited game time for some of the club's more senior players, such as Joao Felix who is yet to start a Premier League game since joining permanently in summer.

Despite this issue, Chelsea have started the season well and currently sit third after 11 matches, but Maresca feels a tinge of regret at not being able to involve everyone.

"I feel a shame for Joao and I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League but we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole [Palmer], Christo [Nkunku]," he said.

"I’d like to put all of them on the pitch but then you need to defend, and you need the right balance.

"I don’t have any doubts that if Joao keeps working well, he will find his moment in the Premier League."

Leicester manager Steve Cooper, meanwhile, will have to pick his team up following a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United prior to the international break. He will have to do so without key player Ricardo Pereira, who is out for four months with a hamstring injury.

"It's a real blow for everybody, and especially him. We'll all be with him now in his recovery," he told BBC Sport.

Having kept just one clean sheet in 11 league games, Cooper is also aware of where his side need to improve.

"We're not going to hide away from the chances and goals we're conceding, and we'll keep showing intent to improve that," he said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

Vardy is 37 years old, but tops the scoring charts at Leicester having netted four goals in the Premier League.

He has opened the scoring on one occasion this season and has a conversion rate of 33.33% having scored his goals from 12 shots on goal.

Chelsea – Cole Palmer

Palmer ranks fifth in the Premier League top scorers so far this season, having scored seven goals. He also ranks equal-second for goal involvements, having added five assists alongside his goals.

The Chelsea forward has had at least three shots in five of his last six league games and ranks fourth for total shots in the Premier League with 36.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Chelsea earned a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in their last match before the international break, which left them third in the table and four points behind second-placed Manchester City

That draw means that Chelsea have lost just one of their last 10 league games (W5 D4), which came against league leaders Liverpool in October.

Chelsea have lost just one of their last seven away games against Leicester (W4 D2), winning four of their last five meetings overall.

Leicester are winless in their last 13 Premier League games against sides starting the day in the top four of the table (D3 L10). They come into this with three defeats in their last four matches in all competitions (D1).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester – 19%

Draw – 21.6%

Chelsea – 59.5%

Harry Kane has questioned the number of players withdrawing from the latest England squad, insisting the national team "comes before anything". 

England face Greece and the Republic of Ireland in their final two matches in Nations League Group B2 this week, also their last two games under interim head coach Lee Carsley before Thomas Tuchel takes over in January.

Eight players have withdrawn from Carsley's squad – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill.

In an interview with ITV Sport on Wednesday, Three Lions skipper Kane appeared to question the commitment of those dropping out.

"I think England comes before anything. England comes before club," Kane said.

"England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that and he wasn't afraid to make decisions if, you know, that started to drift from certain players.

"It's a shame this week obviously. I think it's a tough period of the season, maybe that's been taken advantage of a little bit.

"I don't really like it if I'm totally honest. I think England comes before anything, any club situation."

England likely need to beat Greece – who claimed a 2-1 victory at Wembley Stadium last month – to have any chance of winning automatic promotion back to League A.

Should the Three Lions finish second, they will face a third-placed finisher from League A – potentially Poland, Belgium, Hungary or Serbia – in a promotion play-off tie in March.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer and Declan Rice headlined England's latest withdrawals from Lee Carsley's final squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures. 

The Three Lions take on Greece this Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later to face the Republic of Ireland, but will be without eight key players for those games.

Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Conor Bradley in the 25th minute of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, though Arne Slot is hopeful the injury is not a serious one.

And his absence will be felt by the Three Lions. Only Mohamed Salah (21) has created more chances for the Reds in the Premier League this term than Alexander-Arnold (20). 

Palmer, who missed training following a challenge from Lisandro Martinez during Chelsea’s draw with Manchester United before playing against Arsenal, is another to drop out. 

This season, Palmer's 12 goal involvements (seven goals, five assists) in the Premier League is only bettered by Liverpool's Salah (14). 

Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Rice also miss out, with the latter dealing with a foot injury that forced him to miss the Gunners' Champions League defeat to Inter last week. 

Rice was substituted in the 71st minute of their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, with Saka limping off 10 minutes from time at Stamford Bridge. 

Phil Foden and Jack Grealish are also ruled out, with Pep Guardiola expressing his frustration about the latter's inclusion by Carsley after ruling him out of their trip to Brighton.

Southampton's Aaron Ramsdale and Chelsea's Levi Colwill have also withdrawn from the initial 26-man squad. 

It has, however, opened the door for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers to receive his first senior call after impressing under Unai Emery this season. 

Rogers has three goals and three assists in 15 appearances in all competitions for the Villans this term, a total only bettered by Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins (both eight). 

Jarrod Bowen and Jarrad Branthwaite along with the uncapped Tino Livramento and James Trafford have also been added to Carsley's ranks. 

Cole Palmer's availability for Chelsea's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday is still to be decided.

Blues talisman Palmer was on the end of a painful challenge from Lisandro Martinez in last week's draw with Manchester United.

With seven goals and five assists in the Premier League already this season, following a breakout campaign last time out, Chelsea will be keen to have Palmer back for their next league match against Arsenal.

But Enzo Maresca revealed ahead of his side's Conference League meeting with Noah that Palmer was yet to train with the team again.

Palmer is not part of Chelsea's European squad for the league phase and so would not have featured on Thursday regardless, but his status for the Arsenal encounter is uncertain.

"Cole didn't train [on Tuesday], so we will see today if he can train with us," Maresca said on Wednesday.

"We hope [he will be available for Sunday]. We need to wait and see and then decide."

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League, above Arsenal on goal difference, while they lead the Conference League table after two matches.

Maresca's men have so far succeeded in that competition due to their incredible strength in depth, although the vast number of options means some star names are struggling to see minutes in the Premier League.

Asked about Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku, Maresca said: "I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but I have said many times: we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole, Christo.

"I like to put all of them inside the pitch, but then you also have to defend and you need the right balance between the two phases of attacking and defending.

"This is the only reason why. There is no doubt if Joao keeps working well, he is going to find his moment also in the Premier League."

Enzo Maresca believes it was "quite clear for all of us" that Lisandro Martinez should have been sent off for his "dangerous" challenge on Cole Palmer during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

The spoils were shared at Old Trafford, where a superb Moises Caicedo volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' earlier penalty.

However, Maresca felt United should have been reduced to 10 men following Martinez's late tackle on Palmer, with referee Robert Jones showing the defender a yellow card following a VAR review.

"I think it is quite clear for all of us, but the referee took a different decision," he said. "When you don’t go for the ball and just the man, it is a red. There is no intention to take the ball and it is dangerous."

Nevertheless, the Italian was pleased with the way his players dealt with facing United, who were overseen by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in their first league game since Erik ten Hag's dismissal.

"We are happy because we knew how difficult it would be," Maresca added. "The [United] players want to prove they're good enough. A new manager with different ideas, so we had to prepare a different way.

"Overall, United were similar [to under Ten Hag], we expected them to be a bit more aggressive. For a large part of the game, we were in control, there was a desire to win the game, and we lost our balance in the last 10 minutes or so.

"When you go down in this stadium, it's very difficult to come back, but we did that. Then, we tried to win it."

"We knew if we waited for a long time [to equalise], it was going to be complicated," Caicedo told BBC Sport. "I'm so happy to equalise.

"We deserved to win. We knew it would be a tough game, but we were prepared for it. I'm so happy for the team. It was a great fight."

Erik ten Hag seemed doomed at Manchester United and the period after winning the FA Cup became, as expected, a stay of execution.

United sacked the Dutchman on Monday, placing his compatriot - and club great - Ruud van Nistelrooy in temporary charge.

They have moved swiftly to try and appoint a permanent successor, though, with Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP the target.

Amorim has promised to provide clarity over his future after Sporting's league game on Friday, but it does seem certain that Van Nistelrooy – who oversaw a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday – will be in charge for the visit of in-form Chelsea on Sunday.

United's two Premier League matches at Old Trafford against other Big Six sides this season did not go well for Ten Hag, with the Red Devils beaten 3-0 by both Liverpool and Tottenham.

But will it be different now he has gone?

What's expected?

United are unbeaten in their last 11 home league games against Chelsea (W5 D6) and are looking to win three in a row against the Blues at Old Trafford for the first time since January 1957.

But United have picked up just 11 points after nine Premier League matches this season (W3 D2 L4), which is their second-fewest ever total at this stage – only in 2019-20 did they have fewer points at this point (10). 

They have only lost four of their opening nine Premier League games on two occasions, with both coming in the last two seasons under Ten Hag.

These sides last met in April, with Chelsea coming from behind to win a thriller 4-3 at Stamford Bridge. The Blues last won consecutive league meetings with the Red Devils in March 2011 (a run of three).

United vs Chelsea is the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 26 of the previous 64 meetings between the sides finishing level and the Opta supercomputer is forecasting a close encounter this time.

In 37.8% of the model's simulations, United came out on top. Chelsea were the winners in 37.3%, with the probability of a draw coming in at 24.9%.

A new era

Ten Hag lost 32% of his Premier League games in charge of United (27/85), the joint-highest percentage along with David Moyes (11/34).

Seven of his 27 defeats, meanwhile, came via stoppage-time winners, the highest percentage (26%) of any manager to lose 20+ games in Premier League history.

While Amorim looks likely to come in soon, this is a chance for Van Nistelrooy to get a much-needed feel-good factor back at Old Trafford. United are down in 14th, so they could do with a win.

Their five-goal haul in midweek was a timely boost, given that finishing chances has been such a big issue.

Only Southampton and Crystal Palace (six each) have scored fewer Premier League goals this season than United (eight).

United have underperformed their expected goals by 6.8 (xG of 14.8), the worst differential of any side in 2024-25. Since 2022-23, only Everton (-26) have underperformed their xG by more than United (-17-9 – 123 goals from an xG of 140.9).

All the young Blues

Scoring goals has not been an issue for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca.

The Blues have scored 19 goals in the league this term, which is a tally bettered only by league leaders Manchester City. Chelsea have also accumulated the third-highest xG in the league (17.3), behind Tottenham (17.7) and City (18.5).

But in their last away game in the league, Chelsea struggled to click into gear in attack and lost 2-1 to Liverpool.

Arne Slot's team are a step above United in terms of quality, but Maresca will want his side to take the game to their opponents at Old Trafford.

Maresca has gone with youth this season, so a fearless approach that has mostly been present in the league is perhaps no surprise.

Chelsea have named the youngest average starting XI in the Premier League this season (23 years, 206 days). In their 2-1 win over Newcastle, they became just the second team in Premier League history to not name a single outfield player aged 25+ in their starting XI for a match, after Aston Villa who did so in two games in 2013.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Man Utd - Bruno Fernandes

Against Leicester, Fernandes recorded his 150th and 151st goal involvements for Manchester United, becoming the seventh player overall to do so in Europe’s big five leagues in all competitions since his debut and first midfielder to do so.

Chelsea - Cole Palmer

Palmer has been directly involved in 33 Premier League goals for Chelsea in 2024 (21 goals, 12 assists). Only two players have had more goals and assists in a year for the Blues: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2001 (25 goals, 11 assists) and Didier Drogba in 2010 (22 goals, 13 assists).

He scored in both of Chelsea’s Premier League games against United last season, including a hat-trick in a 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge. The only Chelsea players to score in three consecutive Premier League games against them are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-2001) and Juan Mata (2012-2013).

Eddie Howe said that Anthony Gordon could feature for Newcastle United in their EFL Cup clash with Chelsea on Wednesday. 

Gordon missed the trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday after picking up a groin injury in the build-up to the game, but has since had a scan that has revealed no serious injury. 

Howe is hopeful that the setback is not long-term, but said that Newcastle would make the right decision if he features in midweek, with Arsenal next up in the Premier League. 

Gordon's presence was missed against Chelsea, with Newcastle falling to a 2-1 defeat after Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer scored either side of Alexander Isak's equaliser.

"We have to make the right decision (Chelsea tomorrow). We have Arsenal coming up very quickly (Saturday) & have to make sure we don't do any damage to it," Howe said. 

The England international has created more chances (18) than any other player for the Magpies in the Premier League this season, with only Bruno Guimaraes (14) completing more dribbles than Gordon (13). 

Howe also praised Chelsea's Palmer, who was once again the difference for Enzo Maresca's side on Sunday.

Palmer has continued his goal-scoring form following his sensational debut year for the Blues, registering a division-high 12 goal involvements (seven goals, five assists), so far this season, including his strike against the Magpies. 

The 22-year-old has two goals and one assist against Newcastle in five appearances against them in all competitions, and Howe stressed the importance of keeping Palmer quiet when they return to Stamford Bridge in midweek.

"It's a difficult question to answer, I thought he played really well. You can see he's playing really well," Howe added. 

"We didn't do enough to stop him in transitions. He set up the first goal in that fashion, scored the second goal in that fashion. We've learned from that.

"We will pass that on to the players and aim to do better. As a team, we will aim to collectively do better.

"The last 60 minutes, we defended a lot more securely, albeit we conceded a second."

Enzo Maresca said Cole Palmer's display against Newcastle United is the reason "fans pay to watch" after the Blues talisman led them back into the Premier League top four. 

Palmer struck the winner 75 seconds into the second half after Nicolas Jackson saw his goal cancelled out by Alexander Isak. 

The England international played a huge role in the opener too, producing a sweeping long-range pass into the path of Pedro Neto, who squared for Jackson to finish. 

Palmer has now registered a division-high 12 goal involvements this season (seven goals, five assists), overtaking Erling Haaland (11) on Sunday. 

"It is the reason why people pay, they want to see that kind of player. We are very happy to have him," Maresca said. 

Chelsea have now won 10 of their 14 Premier League games since the beginning of May (D2 L2), with only Manchester City (35) winning more points in the competition in this period.

However, the Blues had to overcome some nervy moments at Stamford Bridge, with Isak twice going close in the second half but unable to test Robert Sanchez. 

Chelsea will welcome the Magpies back to the capital in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, and Maresca wants to see an improvement from his players. 

"I am always concerned. We can attack better and defend better. We started three months ago so I am very happy where we are now," Maresca continued.

"The important thing is the feeling is good. We play nine games already. I am not looking at the table at the moment. If you do that sometimes you can be confused.

"The players are understanding every day what we are working for. The fans can enjoy and dream.

"Us as a club and as players, we need to understand there are many things we can do better."

For Newcastle, meanwhile, they have now failed to win in their last five games in the Premier League. Their last joint longest winless streak was from 21st January 2023 to 4th March 2023.

"I think you go through all types of cycles as a manager," Howe said on whether his side's current form is emotionally draining.

"You understand the difficult moments and you just have to ride through them knowing you'll come back again.

"The attitude of the players gives me the most heart and that's the most important thing."

With Anthony Gordon missing with a groin injury, Newcastle lacked a clinical threat in the final third, with only three of their 11 shots on target during the game, something the Magpies boss alluded to in his post-match assessment.

"I think it's just the final bit in both boxes where we didn't defend the two moments well enough and I felt we had enough positive actions to score more," Howe continued. 

"Hopefully the goal will go a long way to ridding ourselves of that. No one can change it but us and we'll continue to attack games and attack teams."

Enzo Maresca said Cole Palmer's display against Newcastle United is the reason "fans pay to watch" after the Blues talisman led them back into the Premier League top four. 

Palmer struck the winner 75 seconds into the second half after Nicolas Jackson saw his goal cancelled out by Alexander Isak. 

The England international played a huge role in the opener too, producing a sweeping long-range pass into the path of Pedro Neto, who squared for Jackson to finish. 

Palmer has now registered a division-high 12 goal involvements this season (seven goals, five assists), overtaking Erling Haaland (11) on Sunday. 

"It is the reason why people pay, they want to see that kind of player. We are very happy to have him," Maresca said. 

Chelsea have now won 10 of their 14 Premier League games since the beginning of May (D2 L2), with only Manchester City (35) winning more points in the competition in this period.

However, the Blues had to overcome some nervy moments at Stamford Bridge, with Isak twice going close in the second half but unable to test Robert Sanchez. 

Chelsea will welcome the Magpies back to the capital in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, and Maresca wants to see an improvement from his players. 

"I am always concerned. We can attack better and defend better. We started three months ago so I am very happy where we are now," Maresca continued.

"The important thing is the feeling is good. We play nine games already. I am not looking at the table at the moment. If you do that sometimes you can be confused.

"The players are understanding every day what we are working for. The fans can enjoy and dream.

"Us as a club and as players, we need to understand there are many things we can do better."

For Newcastle, meanwhile, they have now failed to win in their last five games in the Premier League. Their last joint longest winless streak was from 21st January 2023 to 4th March 2023.

"I think you go through all types of cycles as a manager," Howe said on whether his side's current form is emotionally draining.

"You understand the difficult moments and you just have to ride through them knowing you'll come back again.

"The attitude of the players gives me the most heart and that's the most important thing."

With Anthony Gordon missing with a groin injury, Newcastle lacked a clinical threat in the final third, with only three of their 11 shots on target during the game, something the Magpies boss alluded to in his post-match assessment.

"I think it's just the final bit in both boxes where we didn't defend the two moments well enough and I felt we had enough positive actions to score more," Howe continued. 

"Hopefully the goal will go a long way to ridding ourselves of that. No one can change it but us and we'll continue to attack games and attack teams."

Cole Palmer led Chelsea back into the Premier League’s top four, with his seventh top-flight goal of the season seeing the Blues edge out Newcastle United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer, who saw an early strike disallowed for offside, was integral to both of Chelsea’s goals on Sunday, playing a stunning pass in the build-up to Nicolas Jackson’s 18th-minute opener.

Alexander Isak drew the visitors level with his first goal since returning from a toe injury, tucking home from a cross by former Chelsea youngster Lewis Hall.

But Palmer got his name on the scoresheet early in the second half, with his effort squeezing in at Nick Pope’s near post, with Newcastle unable to find a response.

Chelsea’s triumph moved them, at least temporarily, into fourth spot, five points ahead of 12th-placed Newcastle.

Data Debrief: Palmer the difference, but Neto and Jackson impress

While Palmer will receive plaudits for his contribution to Chelsea’s victory, it was also an impressive outing for Neto, who was one of the Blues’ most potent attacking threat.

The Portugal international ended the contest with more chances created (three) than any other Chelsea player, while also recording the joint-most shots on target (two alongside Noni Madueke) for the hosts.

But Jackson also continued his fine scoring form, with his strike now seeing him involved in 14 goals in his last 14 Premier League appearances (10 goals, four assists).

Jackson’s opener also saw him become the fifth-quickest player to reach 20 goals in the top-flight for Chelsea, reaching that tally in 44 games, one fewer than Hernan Crespo.

Manchester City did not anticipate the meteoric rise of Cole Palmer, who has become the best player in the Premier League since leaving for Chelsea.

That is the view of former City defender and manager Stuart Pearce, who believes Palmer's form could even lead to Phil Foden or Jude Bellingham being omitted from the England team.

Palmer left City for Chelsea in a £40million deal last year after struggling for regular minutes at the Etihad Stadium, and he has wasted no time in establishing himself as the Blues' star man.

He has 44 direct goal involvements (28 goals, 16 assists) in the Premier League for Chelsea, more than any other player has managed since the start of last season.

He became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion last month, and only City striker Erling Haaland (10) has bettered his tally of six top-flight goals this term.

While Pep Guardiola has said Palmer's sale was not a mistake, citing the fierce competition for places at City, Pearce believes his form will have surprised his former club.

"I watched Cole Palmer in the last internationals and he's so aware, before he gets the ball, of what is around him and he just manipulates that ball brilliantly as challenges come in," Pearce told Stats Perform.

"Now for what he's done, I don't think Manchester City envisaged how well he was going to do when he left the football club. 

"With Cole Palmer, it will be difficult to turn around and say he's not the best player in the Premier League at this moment in time, or certainly last season. 

"His goals tally and his assists tally are there for all to see. He's quite incredible. With his understanding of where to be on a football pitch, you almost want him to be the central figure."

Palmer has also made an impact on the international stage, coming off the bench to score for England in their 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.

Lee Carsley, who remains in interim charge of England until Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January, has fielded Palmer from the right wing, but Pearce thinks he must be allowed positional freedom to show his best form.

"Last game [a 3-1 Nations League win in Finland] he played wide on the right, I think his instructions were to stay on the right because [Jack] Grealish comes off the flank a little bit more," Pearce said.

"It's about where best to play Cole Palmer to get the best out of him. I think it's tucked inside, inside right, number 10, wherever. 

"It's about getting that balance right and you might have to leave Foden or Bellingham out to accommodate him on any given day. Now that is a tough call for any manager, but he's been incredible for Chelsea."

Cole Palmer will be among the very best players in the world if he continues on his current trajectory, believes the forward's Chelsea team-mate Marc Cucurella.

Palmer enjoyed a magnificent debut campaign in 2023-24 after swapping Manchester City for Stamford Bridge, with his 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) the most of any player.

After impressing for England at Euro 2024 – where he came off the bench to score in their 2-1 final defeat to Spain – Palmer has picked up where he left off this term, registering 11 goal contributions (six goals, five assists) to once again lead the charts.

He became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time in a single game versus Brighton and Hove Albion in September, when he scooped the competition's Player of the Month award.

Palmer also won England's Player of the Year award for last campaign and Cucurella, who was a key part of the Spain team that defeated the Three Lions in Berlin, believes he is destined for the very summit.

"If you see him not in his kit you would never in your life say he was a footballer, but then on the pitch... he shoots and it doesn’t seem like he is hitting it hard but he scores," Cucurella said in an interview with The Guardian.

"He's very different. I don't know how to explain it: he's special. We’re very lucky we have him. 

"We [Spain] are lucky he didn’t play much in the Euros either because he came on and almost messed it up for us. 

"If he carries on like this, he'll be among the best. He doesn't have much strength in the air, but if that’s his only problem, then he's all right."

Chelsea are unbeaten in six Premier League games since going down 2-0 to champions City on matchday one, with boss Enzo Maresca winning the competition's Manager of the Month prize for September.

Though it is still early days for the Italian coach, Cucurella says the Blues have lofty ambitions under him.

"Our objective has to be to win a trophy," he said. "In the Conference League we can do something good, and the cups. 

"Arsenal and City have been working in the same way for many years, the same idea, the same players, and I think we’re a bit far away from that. 

"Liverpool too because it's been the same players. But we can get into the Champions League, that's the key objective."

Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Enzo Maresca have been named the Premier League's Player and Manager of the Month for September. 

The Blues won three of their four league games last month, propelling them to fourth place and four points behind leaders Liverpool, who they face next Sunday. 

One of those victories included a 4-2 win over Brighton, a game that saw Palmer become the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time.

He also became only the second Blues player after Frank Lampard in 2008 (against Derby) and 2010 (against Aston Villa) to net four times in two different games in the top flight. 

The England international also leads the division for goal involvements this term (11 - six goals, five assists), with his 23 chances created, a total only bettered by Bukayo Saka (27).

Palmer has now won two of the last three Premier League Player of the Month awards, with only Lampard (four) winning more for the Blues than the 22-year-old (two).

Maresca made September’s shortlist along with Mikel Arteta, Arne Slot, Unai Emery and Marco Silva, and came out on top after votes from both the public and a panel of experts.

In doing so, the Italian has become the first Chelsea head coach since Thomas Tuchel in October 2021 to win the Manager of the Month award.

"We had a very good month," Maresca said. "We all need people around us to make things better.

"I'm very grateful to have all of them [his staff].

"We are always looking at new things and how we can improve from different football and different countries."

Cole Palmer has been named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24.

Chelsea star Palmer came off the bench to score in the Euro 2024 final, although England ultimately lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.

Palmer has only nine caps to his name, and just two starts for the Three Lions, but he finished ahead of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the public vote.

The 22-year-old made his debut in a 2-0 win over Malta in November of last year, and has scored two international goals, including that strike against Spain in July.

Palmer is the first Chelsea player to scoop the award since Ashley Cole in 2010.

Since he joined Chelsea from Manchester City last season, Palmer has directly contributed to 44 league goals (28 goals, 16 assists).

Of players to feature in Europe's top five leagues, his England team-mate Harry Kane has provided more goal contributions (53 - 41 goals, 12 assists) in that time.

Earlier this season, Palmer became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match when he scored all of Chelsea's goals in a 4-2 win over Brighton.

Palmer is expected to feature when England take on Greece in the Nations League on Thursday.

Enzo Maresca has been delighted with Chelsea's attacking prowess in the early weeks of his reign but says they have much to improve at the other end ahead of hosting Nottingham Forest. 

Maresca has made a strong start to life at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues unbeaten in five Premier League matches (four wins, one draw) since a matchday one defeat to Manchester City.

No team's Premier League games have produced more goals than Chelsea's so far in 2024-25, with Maresca's men scoring 15 times and conceding seven.

Forest's games, meanwhile, have contained the fewest goals of any side in the top flight (11, six for and five against).

Chelsea edged another goalfest on Thursday as they beat Gent 4-2 in the Europa Conference League, leading Maresca to call for defensive improvements. 

"I think we are performing very positively, especially in attack, it's going very well so we are happy," Maresca said.

"As I said many times already, for sure there are always things we can do better. We can attack better, we can defend much better.

"But the most important thing we can learn is that we cannot switch off. For their second goal, we saw that the game was already finished. 

"If we want to take a step forward, even when you the game is almost finished, you have to continue and not give away another goal, but it was a good performance and result. 

Forest, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten start to the campaign halted by Fulham last time out, losing 1-0 in the absence of star midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, who was suspended after being sent off at Brighton one week earlier.

The England international has told BBC Sport he is working on controlling his temperament, saying: "If I'm at 70% or 60% going into a game, I can't play like that. 

"I have to be 150% all the time. I always have to be on it and I like the feeling of having control in a game.

"Sometimes when we're having none of the ball I get frustrated, but that's when the control comes in and to understand what the manager wants from this moment."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Chelsea – Cole Palmer

Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four times in the first half of a game as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 last week. 

Since his debut for Chelsea in September last year (a home defeat to Forest), Cole Palmer has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other player (43 – 28 goals, 15 assists). 

Nottingham Forest – James Ward-Prowse

Forest may need some dead-ball magic if they are to earn a result, and specialist Ward-Prowse has a fine record against the Blues.

Ward-Prowse has been involved in four goals in his last five Premier League starts against Chelsea (two goals, two assists), netting the winner on his last start at Stamford Bridge with Southampton in April 2023.

MATCH PREDICTION – CHELSEA WIN

Forest won this exact fixture 1-0 last season – only once have they ever won consecutive away league games against Chelsea, doing so on their first two visits to Stamford Bridge in 1907 and 1908.

Indeed, Chelsea have won just one of their four Premier League meetings with Forest since the latter returned to the top-flight in 2022 (two draws, one loss), though it was a 3-2 victory in the teams' last such game in May.

However, since their return to the competition, no team has lost more Premier League away games in London than Forest (10). 

They have lost each of their last four in the capital, conceding three or more goals each time, which will give an in-form Blues attack plenty of confidence.

Chelsea have won nine of their last 11 Premier League games (one draw, one defeat), netting at least twice in eight of those nine victories. Indeed, the Blues are the top scorers in the league this season (15) and also have the highest shot conversion rate (20.3%).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea – 62.3%

Nottingham Forest – 17.8%

Draw – 19.8%