The Bluebirds welcome the Premier League outfit to Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night
Cole Palmer of Chelsea(Image: Getty Images)
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Cole Palmer will not feature against Cardiff City on Tuesday night, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca confirming the winger is being rested as part of a wider shake-up of his side.
The Blues head into their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Cardiff at Stamford Bridge with one eye on player welfare, and Maresca has made it clear significant rotation is on the cards.
Palmer, one of Chelsea’s standout performers this season, has been singled out for protection after a gruelling run of fixtures.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca all but ruled the England international out of the visit of the League One leaders.
“I already said many times in all the press conferences that the target for the ones that they need to be protected is the target,” Maresca said.
“Cole in this moment is one of the players that he deserves to be protected, and in this moment he's not available to play two games in three days.”
The decision hands Cardiff a notable boost ahead of the Club World Cup champions' visit, with the Bluebirds flying high at the top of League One and full of confidence after an impressive run of form.
Maresca also revealed Chelsea will make wholesale changes to their line-up, with fatigue a major factor after a congested schedule.
“We're going to make some changes,” he added.
“We'll see how many, but for sure we have players that in the last 12, 13 days, they've played five games. So they need to probably recover energy.”
While Chelsea remain heavy favourites, of course, Brian Barry-Murphy’s side will hope to use the continuity from selecting from such a small squad to hurt Tuesday night's visitors and continue their momentum on a big stage.
For the hosts, there are no fresh injury concerns from the weekend.
Gabriel Osho is out with a dislocated toe, while teenage right-back Ronan Kpakio will also miss the clash after picking up his second booking in the previous round's win over Wrexham.
Rubin Colwill, Ollie Tanner and Eli King remain long-term absentees, while goalkeeper Jak Alnwick remains absent owing to personal reasons.
Omari Kellyman is ineligible to play against his parent club.
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