90min
·4 janvier 2025
90min
·4 janvier 2025
Chelsea are looking to bring their three-game winless run to a close on Saturday afternoon when they make the journey across the capital to face Crystal Palace.
The Blues kick off the new calendar year with a trip to Selhurst Park following a disappointing end to 2024. A goalless draw with Everton was followed by underwhelming defeats to Fulham and Ipswich Town that have seen Enzo Maresca's lose ground on table toppers Liverpool.
They will be tested by a resurgent Palace side at the weekend, with Oliver Glasner's men having shaken off a disappointing start to the season over the past two months. However, the Eagles are by no means out of their relegation fight, only perched five points above the drop.
The spoils were shared in the reverse fixture back in September but Chelsea had won the previous 14 meetings on the spin. Palace haven't won this duel since the 2017/18 campaign.
Here is 90min's guide to an all-London affair.
Trevoh Chalobah is ineligible to feature / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages
Glasner has the majority of his first-team squad available to him for Chelsea's visit but he will be missing Blues loanee Trevoh Chalobah, who is ineligible to face his parent club. He will likely be replaced by Chris Richards or the returning Chadi Riad.
Adam Wharton and Matheus Franca are also missing for Palace, with the former a significant absentee in the centre of the park. Will Hughes is unavailable after requiring stitches in his foot following the win against Southampton.
Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Lerma, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.
Romeo Lavia is likely to miss out again / Visionhaus/GettyImages
Chelsea are missing Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana at centre-back - the latter is now facing a season-ending injury - and are also likely to be without Romeo Lavia in defensive midfield. The Belgian has been absent since the 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur due to a hamstring issue.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka are likely to be absent in midfield as well, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after being provisionally banned for failing a drugs test.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
It could prove another frustrating afternoon for Maresca's men, who will be hoping to turn the corner after a small blip at the end of last year. They have found goals difficult to come by recently, scoring just once in their last three matches.
Palace have the ability to frustrate with their five-man defence out of possession and will be difficult to carve open. They also boast the attacking firepower to hurt Chelsea on the counter, with Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr likely to be crucial in their bid to earn some much-needed points.