Chelsea vs Crystal Palace tips and predictions: Eagles to end Blues' incredible winning run
- George Dempsey
- 26 December 2023
Chelsea welcome Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge in a festive Premier League fixture on Wednesday evening (19:30 GMT).
Chelsea’s 2-1 loss against Wolves last weekend was in keeping with their poor away form but came at a much greater cost than dropped points.
Among the 11 players to be shown a yellow card in an ill-tempered affair at Molineux were Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer, both are suspended for this fixtures..
Joining them on the sidelines are Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Robert Sanchez and potentially Moises Caicedo.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have found their shooting boots at Stamford Bridge but they look desperately short of bodies for the visit of Crystal Palace.
Unlike their hosts, Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace are likely to name a largely unchanged XI when they make the short trip to West London.
They’re winless in seven and 10 of 11 of their last outings, but they’ve caused Liverpool, Man City and Brighton problems in the last three.
Hodgson’s game plan will mirror the approach that secured them all three points at Old Trafford and a stunning point at the Etihad Stadium.
A notable trend in Palace games this season is both teams scoring. Both teams have scored in their last three away games and six of seven overall.
On the other hand, both teams have scored in eight of 11 for Chelsea and there have been over 3.5 goals in three of five at Stamford Bridge.
Another notable stat is few teams have conceded more corners than Palace on their travels. The Eagles’ box often comes under fire and standing firm has led to 6.33 corners against.
Team news
Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Enzo Fernandez, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka are ruled out due to injury.
Moises Caicedo is a doubt due to illness while Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling are suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
Sam Johnstone, Joel Ward, Cheick Doucoure, Jeserun Rak-Sakyi, Rob Holding and Odsonne Edouard are unavailable due to injury.
Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew are expected to support lone striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Key stats
- Chelsea have won 12 consecutive meetings between the two across all competitions
- Both teams have scored in eight of Chelsea’s last 11 matches
- Crystal Palace are unbeaten in seven of 11 away matches
