Cole Palmer 'left in tears' as Chelsea star pokes fun at Tottenham before 'difficult' clash

Chelsea star Cole Palmer has cheekily poked fun at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of Saturday's clash in north London.

The Blues travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (5:30pm kick-off) hoping to return to winning ways in thePremier League after their shock 2-1 defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Spurs, meanwhile, know a win over their London rivals will propel them into second place in the league.

One player who won't feature in the derby is Palmer, who has been nursing a groin injury for much of the season. The Chelsea midfielder was raced back from the treatment room in September, only to aggravate the problem a week later.

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But that hasn't stopped Palmer from sending a playful reminder to Spurs about what happened in the same fixture last season ahead of Saturday evening's showdown.

The 23-year-old used a crying with laughter emoji on his Instagram story alongside reposting a ‘last time out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’ highlights package, where he audaciously chipped a penalty straight down the middle during a 4-3 win for the Blues.

Chelsea may have an excellent overall record against Spurs, but Maresca believes the game will be 'difficult' for his side.

"Tottenham, I think they are doing very good," he said in Friday's pre-match press conference. "They finished last season winning the Europa League.

"They started very good this season and also because it's a derby for sure it would be a difficult game."

Palmer will not be the only absentee for Maresca's team. Striker Liam Delap will be suspended for the Premier League fixture after being sent off against Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Maresca offered a stern response to the forward's decision-making, which resulted in the sending off, and has now been asked again about his comments.

"Probably because I'm not from England so sometimes when I try to translate from Italian to English sometimes it's a bit different," he said. "Liam when he's inside the pitch is more focused to do his battle against the central defender than the rest.

"This was what I was telling, what I was trying to say after that game."

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