Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer for their Carabao Cup last-16 tie at Liverpool on Wednesday night after the midfielder was sent off during Saturday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at home to Tottenham.
Palmer received two quick-fire yellow cards from referee Chris Kavanagh in the closing stages of the match. His first booking came for a challenge on Mateus Fernandes, who had angered the Chelsea man by swiping the ball away with his hand while on the floor. Less than 10 minutes later, Palmer picked up a second yellow for a late challenge on former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.
One-match ban applies to all domestic competitions
The dismissal was the first of Palmer's career. Tottenham head coach De Zerbi and several pundits believed he should have been shown a straight red card for his actions against Fernandes, which would have triggered an automatic three-game suspension for violent conduct. Instead, Palmer will serve a one-match ban for two bookable offences.
That suspension applies to all domestic competitions, not just the Premier League, meaning the 24-year-old will be unavailable when Chelsea travel to Anfield for the high-profile last-16 clash. He is likely to be joined on the sidelines by Joao Pedro, Chelsea's top scorer and reigning Player of the Season, who was a shock absentee from the squad to face Tottenham with an unspecified injury sustained in training at Cobham on the eve of the game.
Palmer expected back for Manchester United clash
Palmer will quickly be back in contention next Saturday when Chelsea host struggling Manchester United in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge in a lunchtime kick-off.
The defeat to Tottenham was compounded by an unfortunate own goal scored by Mike Penders on the 21-year-old goalkeeper's first Premier League start, in place of the injured Emi Martinez. Xabi Alonso's side continued to implode with 10 men as Mathys Tel's individual effort with three minutes remaining sealed only Tottenham's second league win at Stamford Bridge in 36 years.
Pep Chavarria, Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha all remained sidelined against Tottenham due to injury, while captain Reece James is not expected back until mid-January following knee surgery. Martinez watched the game from behind the Chelsea bench as he continues to recover from jaw surgery after a sickening accidental clash of heads in the win at Everton.
