Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has sympathy for Manchester United counterpart David De Gea.

Cech, who could go head-to-head with the Spaniard at Stanford Bridge on Sunday, claimed De Gea must be given time to adjust to the degree of protection he is receiving from Premier League referees compared to those in his homeland.

"You could see with De Gea at the start there was a challenge in the air which normally would have been given in Spain as a foul and was not given here and you could see the surprise," Cech told Chelsea TV.

"You could see every time it happened, he was surprised.

"This is where you sympathise with the guy because you know you have to learn quickly to adapt.

"I think he's doing well in terms of improving and understanding the game, but it takes time to adapt."