The "Blue Lions" Chelsea will face the "Red Devils" Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in the 36th round of the 2024/25 Premier League. Maresca said that his team will continue to aim for the Champions League qualification and hopes that the players will step up and take on this responsibility.

After losing 0-2 to Newcastle in the last round, Chelsea currently ranks fifth in the standings with 63 points, the same as Aston Villa in sixth place, so they still need to gain 3 points to increase their advantage in the fight for Champions League qualification.

So far this Premier League season, the 23-year-old England midfielder Palmer has contributed 15 goals and 8 assists for Chelsea, including breaking his goal drought in the previous game against Liverpool.

Talking about the star's performance, Chelsea coach Maresca said, "Maybe the outside world measures an important player by goals or assists, but for example, against Liverpool, although Palmer scored a penalty in the last minute, his performance in all aspects of the game was great, including sacrifice, fighting spirit and helping teammates."

"We are satisfied with Palmer's performance. If he can score goals and assists, it will be even better. He himself is eager to be a key player in the last three games. However, Palmer is not the only player who deserves to participate in the Champions League. Caicedo also deserves to play in the Champions League, as well as Enzo and Colville. It is precisely because we have many players in our team who deserve to play in the Champions League in terms of status and ability that we have been able to get all the way to where we are now, and we will do our best to stay there."

Maresca also stressed that "all players must step up. In these games, we have several players who can take responsibility. We should not only pin our hopes on Palmer alone. I do not agree with this view."

"We have a lot of players who have made progress this season, both in terms of leadership and individual ability. For example, Caicedo, Enzo and Colwell. Reece James is our captain and they should all step up."

In addition, Maresca added, "Tactics are of course important, but there are also other aspects that are equally key. The players must be brave enough to take responsibility and show a high desire to bring the club back to its rightful place."

As for the lineup, Maresca said, "Nkunku is almost back and will be training. I said two weeks ago that his problem is minor and it is expected to take only 10 days to two weeks to recover, and he will probably be able to start training with us next week."