Chelsea without three key players for Noah clash as Enzo Maresca faces Cole Palmer Arsenal wait

After another gruelling 90-or-so minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League, attentions now turn to Thursday evening as they take on Armenian side Noah in the UEFA Conference League.

The Blues just played out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford as Enzo Maresca's team climbed into the top four of the top-flight table with the point. Next up in the Premier League is a home clash against Arsenal, who they leapfrogged at the weekend, but before that, Noah await at Stamford Bridge in the third round of Conference League fixtures.

Once again, Maresca is expected to make wholesale changes to the side; as he has done in every cup match thus far in his short tenure as head coach. Against Newcastle United less than a week ago, the Italian changed his team entirely with a brand-new XI at St. James' Park from the one that defeated the Magpies just a few days before.

There are three players that featured in Manchester that are set to be rested on Thursday. Two of them are certain not to take part, with Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana both being left out of the Conference League squad as Maresca looks to protect the duo, who have both struggled with repetitive injury problems in recent times.

Meanwhile, Reece James, who is in the Conference League squad, is set to be rested as the club aim to ease him back in. The Chelsea captain has featured in the last three Premier League fixtures and has completed 90 minutes in the previous two but at this stage, Maresca does not want his skipper to play more than one game a week - as he explained last month.

"It is complicated when you get injury, injury, injury again," the Blues head coach said. "It is not easy so you are always looking for a solution.

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"Probably the solution with Reece is the same solution we are using with Romeo and Wes in terms of using them just once a week, in one game, because probably in this moment, for different reasons, Reece's body cannot play twice a week. One of the solutions is probably to try and manage him in the same way we are doing with Wes and Romeo."

Maresca will be hoping to call on Jadon Sancho, who has not featured for Chelsea since the defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last month, where he was taken off at half-time. Sancho missed last week's loss to Newcastle through illness and was then ineligible to take on his parent club Manchester United a few days later.

Filip Jorgensen, meanwhile, is set to start in goal as he has done in Europe thus far this season. Robert Sanchez gave away a penalty that led to Man United's only goal on Sunday and the Spanish goalkeeper has once again come in for heaps of criticism following the game.

Cole Palmer was the recipient of a nasty-looking challenge from United defender Lisandro Martinez in the dying embers of Sunday's game. Palmer rolled around on the floor for a while before he gingerly walked off the pitch at full-time.

Maresca confirmed after the match that the 22-year-old had an ice-pack on his knee in the changing room but is hoping the injury is nothing too serious. Either way, Palmer will not be involved on Thursday against Noah with the Blues' star man not being picked for the Conference League squad.

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