Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Match Preview
Chelsea visit Selhurst Park on Monday to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League, looking to recover from back-to-back defeats.
After winning thrice in a row, the Blues crashed to a 4-1 loss at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield, followed by another 4-2 drubbing by Wolves at home. All hopes of a return to form were quickly squashed as the west London side’s vulnerabilities were brutally exposed again. These consecutive defeats pushed the side out of the top 10 rankings on the table, as Chelsea now sit in 11th position with just 31 points from 23 games.
Much to beleaguered head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s reprieve, though, his side knocked Aston Villa out from the FA Cup on Wednesday. The Blues went to Villa Park for their fourth-round replay and came away with a 3-1 victory. Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez starred in the evening, while Nicolas Jackson also returned from the 2023 African Cup of Nations with Senegal, with a bang.
Clearly, the side doesn’t lack quality. What it lacks vehemently, however, is consistency, with Chelsea being a rooster one day and a feather duster the next. Having missed out on European football altogether this season, the former champions must start picking up wins to avoid going another year without it.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace haven’t covered themselves in glory either. In fact, the side has accrued seven points fewer than Chelsea and sit three places adrift of them. The Eagles have also demonstrated inconsistency in recent weeks, swinging between a win and a loss in their last five games. Following a 2-1 loss to Chelsea, Palace beat Brentford 3-1, only to get crushed 5-0 by Arsenal in the next. The London side recovered to beat Sheffield United 3-2, only to then crash to a 4-1 loss to Brighton.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Team News
Cheick Doucoure is out with an Achilles tendon rupture he suffered in November and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is nursing a hamstring injury and won’t play a part on Monday.
Jordan Ayew hasn’t made any direct goal contribution for Palace since returning from the 2023 African Cup of Nations. Yet, he is likely to keep his place on the flanks.
Predicted XI: Dean Henderson; Daniel Munoz, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Tyrick Mitchell; Will Hughes, Chris Richards, Jefferson Lerma; Jordan Ayew, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jeffrey Schlupp
Chelsea have a slightly bigger injury list to contend with. Reece James has been out since December with a hamstring injury and won’t return before March. Marc Cucurella is also expected to be back only next month, with the left-back undergoing an ankle surgery towards the end of last year. Romeo Lavia is also unavailable, whereas Wesley Fofana has been missing the entire campaign with a ligament tear.
Levi Colwell, however, is back again and could see a few minutes off the bench. Thiago Silva could return to the XI after being named among the substitutes on Wednesday for their cup game. Nicolas Jackson announced his arrival from the 2023 AFCON cup with a goal against Aston Villa in the cup, and could be rewarded for his heroics with another start here.
Predicted XI: Dorde Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling; Christopher Nkunku
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Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Head-To-Head
Last 5 games head-to-head
- Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace (Premier League, December 2023)
- Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace (Premier League, January 2023)
- Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League, October 2022)
- Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace (FA Cup, April 2022)
- Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea (Premier League, February 2022)
Following back-to-back losses to Crystal Palace in the 2017 calendar year, Chelsea have won their next 13 meetings with the side. This tells just how dominant the Blues have been against their London rivals. Chelsea’s 12 consecutive league wins over Palace is their joint longest against a side in history with West Brom (12, between 1989 to 2011). Should the Blues beat them again on Monday, a new club record will be written. On the contrary, Palace’s 11 league defeats in a row to Chelsea is their most against a single opponent in their history.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Prediction
Chelsea are odds on favourite to win here, given their incredible record with Crystal Palace. Having conceded eight times in their last two league games, the Blues might concede once more here but should outscore their city rivals at the other end to clinch all three points.
Predicted Score: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Betting Tips
- Chelsea to win
- More than 2.5 goals: yes
- Both teams to score: yes
Odds
- Crystal Palace to win: 4.25
- Draw: 3.87
- Chelsea: 1.91
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Where To Watch
- Date and Time: Monday, 12th February at 07:00 PM (GMT)
- India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports Select 1HD, Star Sports Select 2
- UK: Sky Sports, TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport)
- US: ESPN, ESPN+
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