Premier League injury updates and managerial reactions ahead of weekend fixtures

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed Cole Palmer is fit to face Arsenal in Sunday's London derby, while Everton failed in their appeal against Idrissa Gueye's red card. Manchester City's Rodri will miss the Leeds match with a hamstring injury, as Pep Guardiola criticised his rotated squad's performance against Bayer Leverkusen.

Team News and Manager Updates

Chelsea received a significant boost with Cole Palmer declared available for Sunday's match against Arsenal. Manager Enzo Maresca stated: "He is available for both [to start and to play]. Everyone is happy. The teammates are happy, we are all happy. The most important thing is that Cole is happy, he needs to play games."

Everton's appeal against Idrissa Gueye's red card for fighting with teammate Michael Keane has been rejected. Manager David Moyes confirmed: "We have appealed it and our appeal was turned down. We haven't been given any reason why it was turned down." The 36-year-old Senegal midfielder must serve a three-match ban.

Manchester City will be without Rodri for Saturday's match against Leeds. Pep Guardiola delivered the update succinctly: "No Rodri. Not far off. Hamstring." Guardiola had earlier criticised his rotated squad's performance in the 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, accusing them of playing with fear.

Weekend Fixture Previews

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo is not reading into Liverpool's poor form ahead of Sunday's match, stating: "Liverpool is a good team and in football, what matters is what you do on the day. So what we expect is the champions of the Premier League." West Ham will have Lucas Paqueta available following suspension.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke remains calm despite his team's poor run of five defeats in six matches. "I'm confident and I'm also fully convinced," Farke said. "To be honest, myself and my players were fully prepared for such a situation that this would happen."

Nottingham Forest expect Morgan Gibbs-White to return from injury against Brighton on Sunday. Manager Sean Dyche expressed optimism: "We're hopeful he'll be all right for the weekend. When we got in, I just said: go and play. I just wanted him to play with a smile again."

International and Off-Pitch Developments

Iran will boycott next week's World Cup draw in Washington DC in protest at limited visa allocations from US officials. Iranian football federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi confirmed: "The Iranian delegation will not be present for the World Cup draw in relation to the latest status of issuing visas."

Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny revealed he holds an unwanted club record for excessive body fat but insists it hasn't hindered his career. The 35-year-old told GQ Poland: "I like to eat, and even though I manage to stay within the limits, I still broke Barcelona's record when it comes to fat, excessive fat."

The UK government's budget changes will see image rights payments for footballers subject to the 45% top rate of income tax rather than the corporate tax rate of 25% from April 2027, likely increasing tax bills for many top-flight players.