Maresca hits out at Chelsea doubters in Palmer's absence

Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea have already proven that they are not over-reliant on Cole Palmer.

Palmer was named in Chelsea's starting line-up to face West Ham last week, but the England international did not feature due to a groin problem.

He was replaced by Estevao, who went on to register an assist as Chelsea beat their London rivals 5-1 to record their first win of the season.

Maresca insisted Chelsea's results do not depend on Palmer's availability, which he thinks they showed last season.

"You already know what I think about that. How I feel about it," said Maresca when asked about those who say Chelsea are 'Palmer FC'.

"You are there to say things, and people are there to say things, or the ones that say just we are 'Cole team'.

"For sure, Cole is our best player, no doubt. For sure, with Cole we are a much, much, much better team.

"But I think we already showed last year in two, three months where Cole, unfortunately for us, was not 100% and we achieved top four.

"No one expected that, and most importantly, no one asked from me in my first season. They asked me in two seasons [to qualify for the] Champions League."

For the second consecutive game, Fulham came from a goal down to draw 1-1. Last time out, Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench to rescue a point at home against Manchester United.

He scored 94 seconds after his introduction, the sixth-earliest by a substitute since the start of last season, with four of the six fastest being scored by Fulham players.

Smith Rowe believes Fulham's ability to get goals from substitutes all comes from their mentality in training.

"We are very competitive in training, I think it all comes from there when I score or when I contribute," said Smith Rowe.

"We know when we come off the bench, we have to work hard and score.

"I know when Alex [Iwobi] gets the ball, I know his trademark cross. I knew where he was going to put it and that I just had to be there at the right time."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Joao Pedro

With Palmer potentially missing this fixture, Joao Pedro may be called upon to step up for Chelsea again. He has been involved in six goals in his last four games in all competitions for Chelsea (four goals, two assists), with four goals in four starts for the Blues.

In the Premier League era, since 1992-93, only three players have scored five or more goals in their first five starts in all competitions for Chelsea – Diego Costa in 2014 (seven), Alvaro Morata in 2017 (five) and Tammy Abraham in 2019 (seven).

Fulham – Rodrigo Muniz

Rodrigo Muniz – who notched a late winner at Stamford Bridge last season for the Cottagers – has scored six goals in his last 10 away Premier League appearances, averaging a goal every 45 minutes across those games.

His equaliser at Brighton on MD1 took him to six away goals as a substitute for Fulham, overtaking Collins John for the most (five).

MATCH PREDICTION – CHELSEA WIN

Chelsea drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their first home Premier League match of 2025-26 and failed to win their opening two home games last season, but they have not done so in consecutive seasons since 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Estevao became the youngest player to ever assist a Premier League goal for Chelsea in their 5-1 win over West Ham, aged 18 years and 120 days, on his first start in the competition. The only players to assist in their first two starts aged 18 or younger are Francis Jeffers in 1999 (18y 23d) and Evan Ferguson in 2023 (18y 87d).

Chelsea have lost just 8.3% of their Premier League games against Fulham (3/36), the joint-lowest loss rate one side has against another with a minimum of 20 meetings (Man Utd also 8.3% vs Aston Villa).

However, Fulham won this exact fixture 2-1 last season, ending a 21-game winless streak away to Chelsea in all competitions. They have never won consecutive visits to Stamford Bridge in their history.

The Cottagers have won four of their last eight away Premier League London derbies (D2 L2), as many as in their previous 68 combined (W4 D21 L43). Having beaten Brentford 3-2 in May, they are looking for consecutive away London victories for just a second time, beating Charlton Athletic and Tottenham in May and August 2003.

Marco Silva's side have drawn both of their Premier League matches so far this season – they last drew their opening three league games in 2017-18 in the Championship, while in the top-flight they have only done so once (2010-11).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea – 59.4%

Draw – 21.2%

Fulham 19.4%