Chelsea and Crystal Palace clash in an all-London FA Cup semi-final showdown at Wembley this afternoon.
As the now three-horse race to buy the club from Roman Abramovich reaches its final stages, Chelsea are battling to keep their on-pitch campaign alive this weekend after a valiant but ultimately agonising Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Real Madrid in Spain.
But Thomas Tuchel’s side are likely to face another stern test from capital rivals Palace as they bid to reach their 16th FA Cup final overall and fifth in the last six years.
The revamped Eagles are enjoying a successful first season under Patrick Vieira, with their style of play revolutionised and a top-half finish well within their grasp. They have taken four points off both Manchester City and Arsenal this season, so performing at their best in big games hasn’t been a problem.
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After seeing a seven-match unbeaten run spoiled by Leicester last time out, Palace are aiming to seal a third FA Cup final appearance and first since 2016, when they lost in extra-time to Manchester United.
The winner of this one will face Liverpool in the final, after they beat Man City 3-2 in thrilling fashion on Saturday.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace is scheduled for a 4:30pm BST kick-off today, Sunday April 17, 2022.
The match will take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
Where to watch Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
TV channel: Today’s semi-final tie will be broadcast live on ITV, with coverage beginning at 3:45pm.
Live stream: Television license-fee payers can also catch the game live online via the ITV website or ITV Hub.
Live blog: You can also follow all the action via Standard Sport’s live match blog, with James Robson at Wembley.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace team news
Chelsea XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Werner; Havertz.
Subs: Kepa, Silva, Sarr, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Pulisic, Ziyech, Werner
Crystal Palace XI: Butland; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Kouyate, McArthur; Eze, Schlupp, Zaha; Mateta.
Subs: Guiata, Clyne, Kelly, Tomkins, Milivojevic, Olise, Ayew, Edouard, Benteke
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace prediction
Chelsea will have exerted a lot of energy during their epic but ultimately unsuccessful comeback bid in Madrid, so Palace will sense a real chance to reach May’s final.
Tuchel must keep things fresh in a bid to ward off exhaustion against a Palace side full of trickery and pacey attacking flair, spearheaded by Wilfried Zaha but without the industry and guile of Gallagher.
We are anticipating a cagey, tense affair at Wembley that may even require extra time. But in the end, Chelsea should have enough to come out on top.
Chelsea to win, 1-0.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Hakim Ziyech notched a last-gasp winner when these two sides last met in the Premier League at Selhurst Park in February, while Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevoh Chalobah were all on target in a 3-0 victory on the opening weekend of the season at Stamford Bridge.
In fact, Palace have lost all of their last nine meetings against Chelsea, last winning in October 2017.
Chelsea wins: 33
Crystal Palace wins: 12
Draws: 15
