Rosenior unfazed by Napoli clash and expects Palmer to return soon

Liam Rosenior insists Chelsea will not be “daunted” by a must-win Champions League game against Napoli next week.

The Blues squeezed past Pafos in their penultimate league-stage thanks to Moises Caicedo’s goal, which saw them move up to eighth in the table.

If they still hold one of the top eight spots after the trip to Naples, Chelsea will avoid a play-off and qualify directly for the last 16 of Europe’s premier competition.

Rosenior is confident his team can get the job done, even though they were wasteful against minnows Pafos.

“I don’t think this club is ever daunted by any fixture,” he said.

“We know it will be a difficult game. Antonio (Conte) is an incredible coach, but I’m not daunted by that prospect at all.

“They have to win, which changes the dynamic of the game a little bit. I’ve spoken to the players about how important the next game is.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Chelsea were without Cole Palmer for Wednesday’s win, after he felt ‘tightness’ in his thigh ahead of the match.

Rosenior said Palmer’s omission was “precautionary” and is hopeful the forward will be back to feature against Crystal Palace this weekend.

The head coach explained: “He felt something really, really minor in the game against Brentford, actually quite early in the game, so credit to him to keep going through it.

“But I don’t want to risk any players at this stage, especially players of Cole’s quality.

“He’s got a really good chance to be involved and start the game on Sunday, and we’ll keep preparing him for that.”