Chelsea will look to end their three-game winless run on Saturday afternoon when they make the trip across the capital to take on Crystal Palace.
The Blues kick off 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 saw Enzo Maresca lose top spot to Liverpool.
They will be tested by a promoted 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 by no means out of the relegation battle, sitting just five points above the relegation.
The spoils were shared in the reverse fixture in September, but Chelsea have won the previous 14 meetings. Palace have not won this encounter since the 2017/18 season.
here 90 minutes A guide to the pan-London issue.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
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Crystal Palace |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
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Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton – 12/29/24 |
Ipswich 2-0 Chelsea – 30/12/24 |
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Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace – 12/26/24 |
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham – 12/26/24 |
|
Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal – 12/21/24 |
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 12/22/24 |
|
Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace – 12/18/24 |
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers – 12/19/24 |
|
Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace – 12/15/24 |
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 12/15/24 |
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nation |
TV Channel/Live Broadcast |
|---|---|
|
UK |
Radio updates and commentary on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live |
|
US |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 5 Canada |
Glasner has the majority of his first-team squad available for the visit of Chelsea, but will miss on-loan Blues player Trevo Chalupa, who is not eligible to face his parent club. He is likely to be replaced by Chris Richards or the returning Shadi Riyad.
Adam Wharton and Matthews Franca are also missing for Palace, with the former largely absent in the middle of the park. Will Hughes is unavailable after needing stitches in his foot following the win over Southampton.
Crystal Palace expected formation against Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Henderson. Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sar, Iz; Mattita.
Chelsea They are missing Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana at centre-back – the latter is now facing off Season-ending injury – He will also likely be without Romeo Lavia in defensive midfield. The Belgian has been absent since the 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur due to a hamstring injury.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Karne Chukwuemeka are also likely to miss out from the midfield, while Mykhaylo Modric remains unavailable after being provisionally suspended for failing a drugs test.
Chelsea's expected lineup against Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusteau, Tossin, Colwell, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
This could be another frustrating period for Maresca's men, who will be hoping to turn the corner after a small stumble at the end of last year. They have found it difficult to score goals recently, scoring just once in their last three matches.
Palace have the potential to be frustrated by their five-man defense being off the ball and will be difficult to open up. They also boast the attacking firepower that enables them to hurt Chelsea on the counter-attack, with Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr likely to play a crucial role in their attempt to earn some much-needed points.