Chelsea are looking to end their three-match winless run on Saturday afternoon when they make the trip across the capital to face Crystal Palace.
The Blues start the new calendar year with a trip to Selhurst Park after a disappointing end to 2024. A goalless draw with Everton was followed by crushing defeats to Fulham and Ipswich Town which have seen Enzo Maresca lose ground at the top of the table Liverpool.
They will be tested by a resurgent Palace side at the weekend, with Oliver Glasner's men shaking off a disappointing start to the season over the past two months. However, the Eagles are far from out of their relegation battle, just five points above the drop.
The spoils were shared in the reverse fixture in September, but Chelsea had won the previous 14 meetings on the spin. Palace have not won this duel since the 2017/18 season.
Here it is 90 minutes guide to a whole London affair.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Crystal Palace |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
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Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton – 29/12/24 |
Ipswich 2-0 Chelsea – 30/12/24 |
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Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace – 26/12/24 |
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham – 26/12/24 |
|
Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal – 21/12/24 |
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 22/12/24 |
|
Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace – 18/12/24 |
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers – 19/12/24 |
|
Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace – 15/12/24 |
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15/12/24 |
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country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Updates and radio commentary on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live |
|
United States |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 5 Canada |
Glasner has the majority of his first team at his disposal for the visit of Chelsea, but he will be without Blues loanee Trevoh Chalobah, who is ineligible to face his parent club. He is likely to be replaced by Chris Richards or the returning Chadi Riad.
Adam Wharton and Matheus Franca are also missing for Palace, with the former a significant absence in the center of the park. Will Hughes is unavailable after requiring stitches in his leg after the win against Southampton.
Crystal Palace predicted formation against Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.
Chelsea Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are missing at centre-back – the latter now facing one season-ending injury – and also likely to be without Romeo Lavia in defensive midfield. The Belgian has been absent since the 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur with a hamstring problem.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka are also likely to miss out in midfield, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after being suspended for failing a drugs test.
Chelsea predicted formation against Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
It could be another frustrating afternoon for Maresca's men, who will be hoping to turn the tide after a minor crash at the end of last year. They have struggled to find goals of late, scoring just once in their last three games.
Palace have the ability to disappoint with their five-man defense out of possession and will be difficult to break open. They also boast the attacking firepower to hurt Chelsea on the counter, with Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr likely to be crucial in their bid to pick up some much-needed points.