Out of form Chelsea head to South London to take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a prediction alongside our preview.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Preview
Having extended their winless run across all competitions to three straight matches last time out, Chelsea return to Premier League action with a trip to South London to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Since beating Shamrock Rovers in their final Conference League league phase match just over three weeks back, the Blues have drawn with Everton and have lost back-to-back matches to Fulham and, most recently, Ipswich.
Enzo Maresca’s side were in second place prior to this poor string of results, but they now find themselves in fourth place in the table, 10 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, while Arsenal and Nottingham Forest are also ahead of them in second and third place.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, are down in 15th place in the English top-flight table on 20 points after recording four wins, eight draws and seven defeats across 19 matches this term, leaving them just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Last time out, the Eagles ended a three game winless run with a narrow 2-1 win over bottom of the table Southampton. Oliver Glasner’s side initially went 1-0 down, however goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Eberechi Eze either side of the half-time whistle were enough to claim a vital three points.
Saturday’s clash will be the second time that Palace and Chelsea have faced off this term, with the reverse fixture ending in a 1-1 stalemate at Stamford Bridge in early September. Despite that being a decent result for the Eagles, historically, they have a poor record in this fixture, with the Blues winning 14 of their last 15 meetings.
Crystal Palace Team News
Injured trio Adam Wharton (groin), Matheus Franca (groin) and Franco Umeh-Chibueze (thigh) are ruled out due to their respective concerns, while Rob Holding remains frozen out of Glasner’s first-team squad.
In more positive news, the Eagles will be able to welcome back key defender Marc Guehi after the England international missed the win over Southampton due to a one-match suspension.
Chelsea Team News
Meanwhile, in the Blues camp, all of Wesley Fofana (thigh), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspended), Benoit Badiashile (unspecified) and Omari Kellyman (thigh) are ruled out of the trip to Selhurst Park.
Carney Chukwuemeka (illness), Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (knock) could also miss out, with the trio being earmarked as doubts after missing the defeat to Ipswich last weekend.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Predicted Lineups
Crystal Palace Predicted Lineup:
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta
Chelsea Predicted Lineup:
Jorgensen; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Prediction
Despite their poor form over the Christmas period, the UK’s best football betting sites still see Chelsea as clear favourites to claim all three points against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
We at SportsCasting agree with the bookmakers’ assessment of the fixture and expect the Blues to get back on track with a victory over the Eagles on the road, but only by a narrow margin.
Palace have scored in eight of their last nine matches, including in games against Manchester City, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Arsenal, so we believe that there’s a high likelihood that they get on the scoresheet, however we’re backing Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and co. to combine to drag the visitors over the line.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
