Chelsea leave Palmer at home for Atalanta test in Champions League

Chelsea have confirmed that they are travelling to Bergamo without the services of Ballon d’Or nominee Cole Palmer, whose minutes are being managed following his recent return from injury. 

Atalanta will host Chelsea at the New Balance Arena on Tuesday evening in the sixth round of Champions League fixtures. This is the final filling of UCL matches this calendar year. 

Atalanta and Chelsea are level on points in the Champions League table ahead of Tuesday’s kick-off, both with three wins, one draw and one loss on their records for 10 points. Chelsea are seventh, with Sporting CP and Manchester City sitting between them and La Dea as things stand. 

Making life slightly easier for Raffaele Palladino and Atalanta on Tuesday night is the fact that Palmer will be unavailable to Enzo Maresca. 

The England international, who finished eighth in this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, has recently returned from a groin injury that kept him out of action for practically two months between the end of September and end of November. 

His minutes are being managed, and it has been confirmed by the club that he has not travelled and will therefore not play against Atalanta. He has featured in Chelsea’s last two Premier League matches, and it is understood that he is still in line to feature against Everton in the league over the weekend. 

Maresca’s side are also without centre-forward Liam Delap, as well as Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill. 

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Max Merrick. 

Defenders: Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Jorrel Hato, Reece James. 

Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, Facundo Buonanotte. 

Forwards: Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrique George, Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Estevao.