Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Crystal Palace:
Butland; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Kouyate, Hughes, Schlupp; Ayew, Edouard, Zaha
Chelsea:
Mendy; Chalobah, Christensen, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Lukaku, Pulisic
Crystal Palace welcome the newly crowned World Champions Chelsea to Selhurst Park. Two managers are going into the game with different objectives - while only a victory is good enough for Tuchel, his counterpart Patrick Vieira will be satisfied even with one point. The Eagles are sitting on the 13th position before the weekend's fixtures kick off, with 26 points. They have won five, drawn 11 and lost eight matches in the Premier League. Their ambitions are not connect with Europa, so avoiding relegation could be their maximum this season. However, the actual form is poor, three draws and two defeats on the last five league matches. What is worse, the defeats came at home. The Eagles lost 3:2 to West Ham and lost 3:1 to Liverpool. As You could see, both matches were efficient. The atmosphere in the squad isn't at desired level and Vieira must find a way to restore the confidence. The Frenchman has some additional issues as some important players are unavailable. The top scorer Conor Gallagher is ineligible to play against his parent club and this is a big handicap. Nathan Ferguson is expected to be sidelined the next six weeks. On the positive note, Cheikhou Kouyate should be available again after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Chelsea sit on the third position with 47 points. The league form isn't at highest level in the last period. They managed to register just one victory on the last five matches in the Premier League. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the squad is excellent after they became the World Champions in Abu Dhabu. It was Kai Havertz in the focus again. The German striker, who scored the winner in the Champions League final last season, secured another trophy with a penalty late in extra time of their final against Palmeiras on Saturday, wrapping up a 2:1 win. This is the first piece of silverware for the Blues this season, and there could still be two more to come with an EFL Cup final against Liverpool at the end of this month, and a Champions League last-16 tie with Lille. I believe the players confidence is high at the moment. But Tuchel remain without some players - Reece James continues to recover from a hamstring injury and isn't expected to be risked here. Ben Chilwell remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury, while Mason Mount is also out after suffering an ankle injury in the Club World Cup final. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who missed the trip to Abu Dhabi through injury, has recovered and could be in contention. Tuchel may have one eye on Tuesday's Champions League fixture with Lille, so some rotation is possible.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Prediction:
I expect both teams to score here. Chelsea will attack as they need the points from this match. But Crystal Palace know how to upset big names. Manchester City and Tottenham are between the Palace's victims this season, while Liverpool were lucky to receive a controversial penalty at Selhurst Park. Chelsea are big favorites, but I expect the Eagles to produce some problems to the favorites.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 2.00 with William Hill