Chelsea meet Crystal Palace in a London derby to kick off their Premier League campaigns.
Having won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup titles since they finished fourth last season, anticipation is high around Chelsea’s title prospects this season after another hectic summer of investment.
Palace meanwhile will look to build on their 12th-placed league finish, as they prepare to juggle European commitments, provided that they win their Conference League play-off against Denmark’s Fredrikstad.
Team News
Levi Colwill is ruled out indefinitely for Chelsea after he suffered an ACL injury in pre-season training.
Wesley Fofana (muscle) and Trevoh Chalobah (ankle) could be fit for selection but Benoit Badiashile (unspecified), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk (both suspension) and Omari Kellyman (hamstring) are still sidelined.
Palace will be without Daichi Kamada after he suffered a knee injury during their Community Shield victory against Liverpool.
Marc Guehi (cramp) is set to be available amidst rumours over his future at the club.
Caleb Kporha (back), Chadi Riad (ACL), Cheick Doucoure (knee), Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) and Matheus Franca (unspecified) also miss out.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 17 August at 2pm BST, live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have avoided defeat in their last 15 league meetings against Palace (W13, D2).
- Palace have failed to win any of their last eight visits to Chelsea (D1, L7).
- A draw will mark the first time that three consecutive Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Palace have finished in draws – having last done so in the Second Division between November 1982 to November 1983.
- Joao Pedro scored in both of Chelsea’s two pre-season friendlies, which saw them beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 then AC Milan by 4-1 result.
- Four of Palace’s ten goals in pre-season were scored by Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Prediction
After another hectic summer of transfer business amidst their Club World Cup success, Chelsea feel like a team that you would be wise not to underestimate with plenty of goalscoring threats now, whilst they have built momentum throughout the summer which will only make them stronger.
Palace meanwhile have had a decent summer in terms of keeping their key players at the club amidst a harsh wrangle with UEFA, as they to be fair didn’t expect to qualify for Europe via the FA Cup so should of been treated with more respect and support given their inexperience in European qualification.
Their Community Shield success however displayed resilience, quality and gutsiness to twice come from behind with a high-intensity counter-attack, which is something that Chelsea will need to be aware of if want to quieten Palace but I do think that the Eagles might have enough to grind out a point.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace
Result: Chelsea 0-0 Crystal Palace