Speaking ahead of today's clash with Manchester United, Maresca admits Palmer is having to adjust to the increased attention he is receiving from opposition managers.
"I said in the last press conference that the next step for Cole is to not allow himself to get frustrated when teams look to mark him man to man," said Maresca.
"If it happens, he should see it as a compliment because all the best players in the world are marked man to man.
"If you think about when he arrived at Chelsea last season, he probably wasn’t as well known as he is now so maybe teams were not so worried about him at that stage.
"This year, for sure teams are worried about Cole because of what he did last season and now he has to get used to being marked man to man.
"This is the next step for him, know that it will be more difficult and dealing with these situations. I have no doubt he will be able to do this because he’s such a special player."