Chelsea will be looking to build on a successful midweek trip to Villa Park when they visit Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday night.
The Blues shrugged off heavy defeats to Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers with an impressive display in a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday as Mauricio Pochettino’s side booked their spot in the FA Cup fifth round. However, there have been plenty of false dawns for Chelsea this term and they will need to show the same desire they did in the Midlands this Monday.
Crystal Palace also shipped four goals in the Premier League last weekend, suffering a humiliating defeat in the A23 derby against Brighton & Hove Albion. Roy Hodgson is hanging on by a thread in the dugout, with some key players absent for the visit of Chelsea to Selhurst Park this Monday.
Here is a closer look at Crystal Palace vs Chelsea in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
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United States |
nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
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Canada |
fuboTV |
Hodgson is without arguably his three most important players for this Monday’s clash, with Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi all absent. The latter is expected to return soon after being substituted against Brighton, but Palace’s attacking duo face longer spells on the sidelines.
The influential Cheick Doucoure is also a long-term absentee, while Rob Holding and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi are missing as well.
Joel Ward should be fit to return to the starting lineup but is lacking match sharpness having not played since mid-December.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup (4-3-3): Henderson; Munoz, Andersen, Richards, Mitchell; Lerma, Wharton, Hughes; Ayew, Mateta, Schlupp.
The Blues have plenty of injuries of their own to contend with, but their significant squad depth gives them an advantage heading to Selhurst Park. Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Wesley Fofana are definitely absent across the backline, while Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu are still missing in central midfield.
Robert Sanchez is getting closer to a comeback but Djordje Petrovic will continue to fill in between the sticks, while Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah also have a chance of making the squad for the clash with the Eagles.
Benoit Badiashile was substituted with a groin injury against Villa midweek and is unlikely to feature on Monday night.
Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Gallagher, Jackson; Palmer.
The Blues needed a last-minute winner to beat the Eagles at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and despite an impressive result midweek, you never truly know what Chelsea side will show up on any given day.
However, with the quality in their squad, Palace‘s poor form and the fact that Chelsea have won their last 13 meetings with their London rivals, you would fancy Pochettino’s men to earn themselves back-to-back victories.
