Chelsea travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon with Blues head coach Liam Rosenior tasked with some difficult selection decisions
08:00, 23 Jan 2026
Cole Palmer is expected to return for Chelsea against Crystal Palace
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Cole Palmer is expected to return for Chelsea against Crystal Palace on Sunday(Image: Visionhaus)
While it has not been vintage football in Liam Rosenior's first four matches as Chelsea head coach, the 41-year-old has at least got the Blues winning again.
After a run of 11 matches with just two victories, under Enzo Maresca and interim head coach Calum McFarlane, Chelsea have now won three of their last four games with Rosenior in charge. The Blues' only defeat thus far has come at the hands of Premier League and Champions League leaders Arsenal.
Yet supporters do not seem enamoured at the moment. With a new head coach arriving two-and-a-half weeks ago, it was never going to be something we saw overnight. It will take time for Rosenior and he has conceded that, though he believes his side can succeed this season.
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After recording his first win as Chelsea head coach in the Premier League last weekend, Rosenior will be hoping to build on that and hopefully gather some momentum at Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Blues make the short trip down to south London and Rosenior has some really tough decisions to make regarding the XI he fields at Selhurst Park.
Palmer risk worth taking?
Cole Palmer was omitted from the Chelsea squad for the Champions League win against Pafos earlier in the week. The 23-year-old, who has struggled with a persistent groin injury all season-long, trained at the club's Cobham base on Tuesday morning but was left out of the action just over 24 hours later.
Rosenior told reporters post-match that Palmer's absence was a precautionary measure after he felt a bit of tightness in his thigh in the early stages of Chelsea's win over Brentford last weekend. "He felt something really, really minor in the game against Brentford," said the Chelsea boss.
"Actually, quite early in the game. So, credit to him to keep going through it. But I don't want to risk players at this stage, especially players of Cole's quality. He's got a really good chance to be involved and start the game on Sunday. And we'll keep preparing him for that."
Palmer is expected to train later today with just over 48 hours until the match. We will hear from Rosenior this afternoon in his pre-match press conference (starts at 1:30pm UK time) where he will provide an update on the fitness of the England international.
Fofana benched?
Wesley Fofana, due to his unfortunate history with injuries, is one of the few players in the Chelsea squad whose situation needs to be treated with a bit more care than others. The 25-year-old defender has been a frequent visitor to the treatment room since moving from Leicester City to the Blues in the summer of 2022.
Fofana completed 90 minutes in the win over Pafos on Wednesday evening - the French defender's third appearance in the space of seven days. Albeit one of those appearances - in the win against Brentford last weekend - was from the bench, but the trip to Palace on Sunday might be one where Fofana is put on the bench.
Unfortunately for Rosenior, he does not have too many options in the centre of defence. Tosin Adarabioyo is set for a few weeks out of action after he hurt his hamstring against the Bees on Saturday afternoon. Trevoh Chalobah is set to come back into the side at Selhurst Park, the place he spent the first half of last season on loan, but who partners the Cobham graduate is unknown.
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Garnacho dropped?
Alejandro Garnacho was poor for Chelsea on Wednesday evening. While his work-rate pleased Rosenior on multiple occasions at Stamford Bridge, the Argentine's work in possession was incredibly frustrating at times.
Garnacho is a very direct winger and loves to beat his man, but when that doesn't come off, and it barely did at all versus Pafos, his impact is severely limited. Jamie Gittens was lively in his cameo appearance from the bench and made a real claim to start against the Eagles this weekend.
There is of course scope to use Pedro Neto from the left-hand side instead and bring Estevao Willian into the side on the right wing. Estevao was excellent after coming on at half-time for the Blues and injected some much-needed intensity and decisiveness into their attacking play.