Chelsea and Crystal Palace kick off the Premier League weekend with a London derby at Stamford Bridge with the hosts looking to impress after an underwhelming start.
After spending around £250million, the Blues have just one win under their belt and this week were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham despite taking the lead.
Palace, on the other hand, beat Southampton and Manchester United before becoming Everton’s latest victim.
It’s fair to say Chelsea have underwhelmed since the start of the season and Tuesday’s collapse against Tottenham will have concerned Frank Lampard. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have impressed with wins over Southampton and Manchester United.
Chelsea have enough about them, on paper at least but being a derby, this might end in stalemate with plenty of goals.
TEAM NEWS
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and left-back Ben Chilwell could make their league debuts for Chelsea after starting the Carabao Cup game at Tottenham.
Forward Timo Werner suffered from cramp in Tuesday’s match but is available, while winger Christian Pulisic is fit enough to feature as as substitute.
Crystal Palace are without striker Michy Batshuayi, who is ineligible against his parent club.
Jeffrey Schlupp misses a second consecutive game with a muscle strain.
Gary Cahill, James Tomkins and Patrick van Aanholt are back in training following lay-offs but are not yet ready to feature.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Chelsea have won five successive matches against Crystal Palace.
- The last time the Eagles beat the Blues was in October 2017 to give manager Roy Hodgson his first league victory with the club.
- Palace have won just two of their 11 top-flight away games against Chelsea (D1, L8).
- None of the past 18 Premier League meetings have finished level, with Chelsea winning 14 matches to Palace’s four.
Chelsea
- Frank Lampard’s side could suffer back-to-back home defeats in the league for the first time since December 2019, when they were beaten by Bournemouth and Southampton.
- Chelsea have not lost their opening two home league matches in a season since the 1978-79 campaign, when the Blues went on to be relegated from the top flight.
- They have conceded at least three goals in four of their past 10 league games, as many times as in their previous 56 matches.
- Chelsea have ended the last two seasons with the best record in Premier League London derbies, and took 16 points from eight such matches in 2019-20.
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Crystal Palace
- Crystal Palace are looking to win their first two away matches in a Premier League season for the third time.
- They could become just the second team to win at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford in consecutive Premier League away games, emulating Sunderland in 2014.
- The Eagles have won eight Premier League fixtures away to sides from the established top six since August 2015, including two at Chelsea.
- Roy Hodgson has lost six consecutive Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge since winning his first such encounter with Blackburn in April 1998.
- Wilfried Zaha has been involved in six goals in his 12 league games against Chelsea, scoring three and assisting three.
PREDICTION: 2-2
