Chelsea have received a major boost with the confirmation that Cole Palmer will not miss Saturday's Premier League showdown with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Although the England playmaker was sent off in the Blues' most recent Premier League outing, he will remain eligible for selection for the upcoming league encounter.
Palmer was handed a one-match ban after being shown two yellow cards in the second half of Chelsea's 2-0 defeat against rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The playmaker received his first caution following an off-the-ball incident involving Spurs player Mateus Fernandes, before receiving his marching orders for a second bookable offence after committing a foul on Conor Gallagher.
Under normal circumstances, a player would serve that suspension during their team's subsequent Premier League fixture. However, disciplinary regulations dictate that red card suspensions are served across domestic competitions, rather than being restricted to the single tournament in which the cards were handed out. This differs from bans triggered by an accumulation of yellow cards over the course of a campaign, which must be served strictly in the specific competition in which they were collected.
Because of this domestic carryover rule, Palmer will instead serve his one-match ban when the Blues travel to Anfield on Wednesday night for an EFL Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool. While Chelsea must navigate the cup match on Merseyside without him, Palmer will be fully clear to take the field against United at Stamford Bridge three days later.