Crystal Palace welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park in a fierce London derby to conclude Saturday’s Premier League action.
Victory will see Palace stay 12th, whereas a win would see Chelsea climb to fourth for at least 21 hours.
Team News
Michy Batshuayi is ineligible to play for Palace due to the terms of his loan deal from Chelsea.
James McCarthy (groin) is in contention to start but Nathaniel Clyne (muscle), James McArthur (muscle), Nathan Ferguson, Mamadou Sakho (both thigh), Connor Wickham (knock) and James Tomkins (eye) are ruled out.
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns to report after Wednesday’s Champions League win over Porto.
Thiago Silva however is suspended after being red carded in last Saturday’s league defeat to West Brom.
Stat Attack
- Crystal Palace have lost their last six meetings against Chelsea (L6), scoring four goals and conceding 15 goals.
- Chelsea have dropped just seven out of a maximum 33 points from their last 11 visits to Selhurst Park (W8, D1, L2).
- Roy Hodgson’s Eagles has kept clean sheets in their last three home matches at Selhurst Park (W1, D2).
- Three of Chelsea’s last five away goals in the Premier League have come from Mason Mount, with two of his goals coming before half time.
- Palace lost their only previous home game refereed by Michael Oliver this season, losing 3-0 to Burnley in mid February.
Prediction
With safety all but virtually assured due to their sizeable gap to the relegation zone, Palace can come into this game with confidence after scrapping their way to a draw at Everton on Monday from behind but finishing will be absolutely key here.
Chelsea meanwhile recovered from their embarrassing domestic performance last time out with a clinical Champions League win away to Porto on neutral territory in Spain, although they seemed to lack spark up front with just six shots on target.
I however do expect a much better attacking display here because of not only their strong record against Palace, but another league defeat could be damaging to their top four dreams although Palace should make a difficult contest with their quality.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea
Result: Crystal Palace 1-4 Chelsea
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