Cole Palmer will be available for Chelsea’s Premier League meeting with Manchester United on Saturday, despite being sent off in the Blues’ previous league match.
Palmer received two yellow cards in the second half of Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. The England playmaker was first booked for an off-the-ball incident involving Spurs’ Mateus Fernandes. He was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Conor Gallagher. The dismissal brought a one-match ban.
Usually, a suspension of that kind would be served in the club’s next Premier League fixture. In this case, however, Palmer will miss Chelsea’s EFL Cup fourth-round tie away at Liverpool on Wednesday night instead.
Why the ban falls on the cup tie
The difference comes down to how the suspension is applied. Red card suspensions carry across all domestic competitions rather than applying only to the competition in which the card was received. Suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards, however, are served in the competition where they were picked up.
As a result, Chelsea will be without Palmer for their trip to Anfield, but he will be available to face Manchester United three days after the cup tie on Merseyside.