Club World Cup winners Chelsea will return to Premier League action for the first time in nearly a month when they travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Blues have been competing on four different fronts so far in 2022, and their congested schedule has produced mixed results and performances.
Outside of the league they have had great success, progressing to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the final of the Carabao Cup and of course they took victory in the Club World Cup last Saturday, with Kai Havertz’s extra-time penalty securing a 2-1 win over Palmeiras.
In the league however, one win in their last five games has all but ended their title challenge, with Thomas Tuchel’s team now third in the table, 16 points off leaders Manchester City with a game in hand.
Nevertheless, the team will not want to lose any momentum as they enter a crucial time of the season, with important upcoming fixtures including the Champions League Round of 16 tie with Lille and the aforementioned Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
Their opponents this Saturday, Crystal Palace, are, on paper at least, unfavoured in this clash, with the Eagles yet to win in the Premier League this year and the south Londoners haven’t beaten their London rivals since October 2017.
The Blues defeated Palace 3-0 on the opening weekend of this season, in what was manager Patrick Vieira’s first game in charge of the Eagles, with Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevoh Chalobah finding the back of the net.
While such a routine victory is not expected this time around, Chelsea should win this clash, especially since Palace’s talisman Connor Gallagher will be ineligible to play against his parent club.
Ahead of the encounter at Selhurst Park on Saturday, February 19, football.london brings you all you need to know...
What TV channel is it on?
The game has not been selected for TV this weekend so fans will have to wait until Match of the Day at 10:30pm to catch the action.
Alternatively, Sky Sports will provide highlights on their website and YouTube channel shortly after the full-time whistle.
How can I follow it?
Although you will not be able to watch the game, you will be able to get all the coverage on football.london via our live matchday blog which will be available from around 11am (BST).
Kick-off time
3:00 PM GMT
