Palmer sends five-word warning to Chelsea team-mates before Newcastle clash

Cole Palmer knows Chelsea will be up against it when they face Newcastle at St James' Park on Sunday lunchtime as he calls on team-mates to show bravery in battle for Champions League places

Cole Palmer has said Chelsea must be brave at raucous St James’ Park on Sunday, otherwise: “They can eat you alive.”

Enzo Maresca’s side know that a win against Newcastle will have a huge bearing on how the race for a top-five finish pans out. And after Palmer celebrated his 23rd birthday earlier this week by watching the Champions League semi-final between Inter and Barcelona on TV, he is desperate to get back to the competition next season.

“We know what the stadium is like and we know they are in a Champions League spot as well,” Palmer said. “We know it will be a tough game but we’re going there to win. Hopefully we can do that. We need to go there and be brave.

"If you go there and you’re not brave, or scared, they can eat you alive. We need to be on it.”

Newcastle have won five in a row at home, scoring 18 goals in the process. And Chelsea, who trail the Toon only because they have scored fewer goals, have rarely left Tyneside happy in recent years - losing on eight of their past dozen visits in all competitions.

But as Palmer said: “I don’t think anyone does.”

He will at least be well rested and with a weight off his shoulders after last weekend ending an 18-match run without finding the net.

Alongside Maresca’s other big guns, Palmer watched from the bench as Chelsea sealed their progress to the Conference League final on Thursday night with a 5-1 aggregate win over Djurgarden.

“It’s a nice feeling to be in the final,” he said, though the low-key celebrations at Stamford Bridge made it clear that today is their top priority.

And while Newcastle’s lack of European competition this season has undoubtedly helped their cause, Maresca’s ability to rotate heavily throughout the campaign has been in part about ensuring that Chelsea can finish the season feeling moderately fresh.

Fellow European finalists Manchester United come to the Bridge on Friday, followed by a final day trip to Nottingham Forest that could still prove to be a shootout for fifth. And Palmer is confident that the depth of the Premier League's youngest squad - with an average of 23 and a half - can still give them an advantage.

“Yeah we have a lot of quality, you could see that on Thursday night,” he said, while he also believes that he is gradually becoming a leader in the dressing room. That’s what I feel like but obviously I’m still young myself so I have to keep growing and growing.”

And there was a reminder of that youthfulness by the other way he toasted turning another year older - after Tuesday’s training session he met up with some friends for a kickabout on a rented astroturf.

“It was just to mess about,” he said, in sharp contrast to the intense three weeks awaiting him.