Crystal Palace welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park in a cross-London derby clash.
Victory would see Palace move five points clear of the relegation zone, whereas Chelsea could go fifth with a win if Fulham lose elsewhere.
Team News
james McArthur could feature for Crystal Palace after recovering from a lengthy groin injury.
Jack Butland (hand) could also be available but James Tomkins (calf) and Nathan Ferguson (foot) remain absent.
Chelsea could welcome Edouard Mendy back in goal after he missed their last two matches with a knee injury.
N’Golo Kante could also feature if he is declared match-fit following a hamstring injury.
Stat Attack
- Crystal Palace have lost each of their last nine league meetings against Chelsea (L9).
- Chelsea have lost just one of their last five visits to Selhurst Park (W4, L1).
- Palace have lost two of their last four home clashes against Chelsea by 1-0 results.
- Three of Palace’s four goals at home this season have been scored by Wilfried Zaha.
- All three of Raheem Sterling’s goals for Chelsea this season have been scored on his right foot.
Prediction
Having had a month out of competitive action due to various postponements, I am unsure as to what we could expect from Palace because they will either be initially rusty or fully fresh and ready to take the fight to Chelsea.
Palace though did deliver a solid performance last time out to snatch a point at Newcastle with great attacking intensity and press, yet were wasteful in their finishing so hopefully there will be improvement in their end product due to having had a week to polish their final touch.
Chelsea meanwhile have had time to adapt to Graham Potter’s style and bond in training following a scrappy draw against Red Bull Salzburg a few weeks ago, so I am hopeful that we will begin to see his favoured starting line-up begin to take shape.
This clash therefore is very difficult to predict given various factors in play over recent weeks but Chelsea seem to relish playing at Selhurst Park, so I fancy them to get a first win under Potter if they settle quickly and play their best attacking football.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Result: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
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