Triple Chelsea vs Tottenham early team news hint emerges as Cole Palmer decision made

A London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham will close out the first round of Premier League action after the international break. The Blues won the reverse fixture 4-3 with Spurs letting a two-goal lead slip.

Since then, both teams have endured vastly different seasons with Enzo Maresca's side fighting for a Champions League qualification spot while Tottenham are languishing in the bottom half of the table having lost nine games in 2025.

Both teams are in European quarter-finals, however, and seven days on from meeting at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea face Legia Warsaw while Spurs take on Frankfurt. The Premier League is the focus now though with a number of big injury returns expected.

"Yeah, Cole [Palmer] is back, he's okay, he's better, Noni [Madueke] is better, Nico [Jackson] is better, and yeah, they are all good," Maresca revealed in a press conference on Wednesday. He could not deliver further good news on Romeo Lavia however, with the midfielder continuing to be plagued by issues.

"He [Lavia] was doing better in terms of progress, but unfortunately, one or two days ago, he had a small problem, so we will see in the next hours." As for their opponents, after playing 180 minutes for Argentina, Cristian Romero appears ready to go but two others remain out.

"Kevin [Danso] and Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] are working hard still," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou admitted earlier this week. "They’re probably a couple of weeks away, but both are progressing well."

Though that duo are still unavailable, Richarlison could be back and therefore Postecoglou is facing some big team selection decisions in attack with Mathys Tel, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert and club captain Son Heung-min vying for three spots.

Given his display at Fulham and goals over the March international break, Tel will fancy his chances to feature prominently and he has hinted at exactly that with Romero doing similar. Via Instagram, both players uploaded pre-match stories promoting the fixture which suggests they will be involved.

As for Chelsea, Madueke has posted a video to social media with his injury comeback being against former club Tottenham now looking very likely. Given the time missed, both he and Jackson could start on the bench but it is very likely Palmer stars with Maresca's decision having been made.

The Blues talisman missed the defeat to Arsenal back in March after suffering a hamstring scare in training but scans showed no damage and he returned to sessions at Cobham late last week.

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