Paul Merson believes Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer will be missing injured teammate Nicolas Jackson as his own form has also dipped.
The England international suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brighton last time out, which has left his hopes of finishing in the top four this season in doubt.
Although Jackson has come in for criticism for missing a แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ number of easy scoring opportunities, Merson believes Palmer will miss the supportive strike partnership he has with the forwards.
“They miss Jackson,” Merson told Ufabet Sports. “Palmer created Jackson and Jackson created Palmer.”
“People will say don’t be silly, Palmer is an incredible player, but you can only play well with the players in front of you.”
“He’s not a very mobile player, so if Jackson doesn’t run, he’s ready to pull the ball and then Palmer comes in and gets the ball. Now Nkunku can’t play, Palmer can’t play and it’s over.”
Maresca, meanwhile, criticised the desire of his players as he reflected on the ‘worst performance’ of his tenure.
Travelling fans chanted ‘we want our Chelsea back’ during a miserable evening compounded by a hamstring injury sustained by Noni Madueke, having sung “we’ve got our Chelsea back” just under two months ago.