Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer will be available for the Premier League match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, despite being sent off in the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The red card carries an automatic one-match suspension, but it will not be served against United because Chelsea's next domestic fixture is a Carabao Cup tie.
Red Card and Suspension Rules
Palmer received two yellow cards within nine second-half minutes during the loss to Spurs. The resulting red card triggers an automatic one-match ban, which would normally apply to the next league fixture. However, Chelsea are still competing in the Carabao Cup and face Liverpool at Anfield in the fourth round this midweek.
That cup match is the one Palmer will miss. Suspensions from red cards in the Premier League also apply to domestic cup competitions, and vice versa. Only bans earned through yellow card accumulation are limited to league matches, as they are in UEFA competitions.
Previous Cup Rotation
Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso had previously rested Palmer by naming him among the substitutes for the third-round tie against Leeds United. With the Blues trailing 1-0 at half-time, the midfielder was introduced for the second half and scored twice within three minutes to help secure a 6-3 victory.
United, like Leeds, led 2-0 in their third-round tie with Brighton & Hove Albion. Mason Mount and Shea Lacey scored within 43 seconds of each other to put the hosts ahead at Old Trafford inside nine minutes. Charalampos Kostoulas halved the deficit in first-half added time, before Maxim De Cuyper and Pascal Gross scored midway through the second half to complete the comeback.
United's Cup Exit and Next Fixture
It was the first time in half a century that United had lost a home match after leading by two goals, with the previous instance coming against Spurs in the 1976/77 season. As a result, United will have their first midweek without a match since the international break as they prepare to face Chelsea.
United are one of only seven Premier League clubs already out of the Carabao Cup. Bradford City, Fleetwood Town and Peterborough United are the three remaining English Football League clubs in the competition, with every Championship team eliminated after three rounds. Bradford and Peterborough play in League One, while Fleetwood represent League Two. Coventry City, Hull City, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Spurs are the other top-flight teams already eliminated, with all six plus United having lost to fellow Premier League sides.
