Crystal Palace vs Chelsea preview, stats, team news, line-ups and prediction

Crystal Palace and Chelsea meet in another Premier League London Derby as the two under-fire bosses will hope for a positive outcome to ease pressure from the fanbase and respective club’s hierarchies.

Immense pressure is mounting on Roy Hodgson as his Palace team have won only two of their last 14 games across all competitions

Although the Eagles are unbeaten in their last four home matches across all competitions, their overall home record have been abysmal, earning just 12 points out of 33.

In their last match, the Eagles saw their wings clipped by Brighton and Hove Albion who recorded an emphatic 4:1 win over Palace as the Seagulls ran rampant at the Amex stadium to lead 3:0 inside only 34 minutes courtesy of goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, and Facundo Buonanotte.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s well-timed header gave Hodgson’s side little hope to mount a late surge but a beautiful goal from João Pedro after combining with Danny Welbeck squashed any hope of a comeback.

While the performance was catastrophic, the decision to introduce an unfit Michael Olise backfired as the France u21 International only lasted 10 minutes before suffering another injury setback.

This now implies that Hodgson will be without two of his most important attacking outlets, Eberechi Eze and Olise in this fixture and will need more than just a miracle to defeat Chelsea who have been dominant in this fixture, winning all of their previous 13 matches.

For Chelsea, they may have preserved what looks to be their best performance of the season for the FA Cup clash against Aston Villa.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side completely outperformed Villa at Villa Park which has served as an unfriendly territory in the past season, with only Newcastle United recording victory there this season. A fine strike from Connor Gallagher opened the scoring with his first goal of the season while Nicholas Jackson recorded his first goal since his return from the African Cup of Nations. Enzo Fernandez scored an absolute ‘golazo’ with s sublime freekick with his celebrations reiterating his commitment to the club despite rumours about his desire to leave the club.

Moussa Diaby’s late strike was not enough as Chelsea secured victory to ease pressure on Pochettino after being dismantled 4:2 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford.

They face a Palace side that are low in form, but neither Chelsea are in form in the Premier League having suffered consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Wolves.

Palace could look to reinvigorate their 2:1 win over Antonio Conte’s led Chelsea at Selhurst Park in October 2017, which was their last victory over the Blues.

Victory over Pochettino’s side is not entirely farfetched as the Blues have largely been inconsistent this season. Their leaky defence could also provide a glimmer of hope to Hodgson, as his side have scored in their last four Premier League home matches.

Defeats to either club could force a difficult decision from either of the club’s hierarchy as the Blues could miss out on the chance to secure a spot in Europe while Palace could push themselves closer to relegation places.

Crystal Palace v Chelsea match details 

Date: Monday, February 12, 2024.

Location: London, England

Venue: Selhurst Park

Kick-off time: 8 pm GMT, 20:00 UTC, 03:00 PM EST, 01:30 AM IST

Referee: Michael Oliver

Assistant referee: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook

Fourth official: Craig Pawson

VAR: Andy Madley

Tickets: Match going supporters can buy Crystal Palace vs Chelsea tickets through the official club websites. Alternatively, if they are sold out, fans can use trusted resellers such as seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head 

• Palace have scored in their last four matches at home.

• Hodgson’s side have conceded 40 goals this season in the Premier League

• The Blues on the other hand have conceded in five of their last six games in the Premier League

• Chelsea have emerged victorious in their past 13 games in all competitions against the Eagles.

• Cole Palmer is the youngest player to score 10+ goals in the Premier League for Chelsea below the age of 21.

• The former Manchester City youngster has fired 45 shots on goal, averaging a shot in every 32.4 minutes.

• Conor Gallagher has been cautioned six times this season and has committed 50 fouls in the Premier League, more than any other Chelsea player.

• More than two goals have been scored in Palace’s past five matches.

• Chelsea have conceded at least once in their past ten matches across all competitions.

• Palace have only recorded 12 points from a possible 33 points while playing at home this season.

• Palace have recorded only two victories in their past 14 matches across all competitions.

• The Eagles are only five points ahead of Everton in 18th place, with relegation fears looming.

• Palace’s last home victory over the Blues was in October 2017.

• The most common result in the fixture between Palace and Chelsea at Selhurst Park has been 0:1 with Chelsea winning the last five with the same scoreline.

• Palace’s twelve consecutive defeats to Chelsea is their longest losing streak to any opponent since the Premier League inception.

• Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in twelve consecutive Premier League games.

Team news 

After coming off with an injury problem against Sheffield United, Olise was given the nod to start from the bench against Brighton, a decision that has accrued significant damage to both the player and the team, as he is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an issue in his thigh.

Also, former Chelsea youngster and Palace captain, Marc Guehi suffered a knee injury and will not be in contention to face his former club.

Cheick Doucoure remains out with an Achilles injury with Rob Holding also out with an ankle injury. Eberechi Eze and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi will both miss this fixture due to thigh injuries. Joel Ward who is also suffering a thigh problem might have a little chance to fill in the void at centre-back.

Palace coach will need to make a decision on who starts upfront with Matheus Franca and Odsonne Edouard all in contention for a role in attack.

January signing, Adam Wharton could make his first Palace start after coming off the bench in their last match against Brighton.

For Chelsea, Pochettino could be without Benoit Badiashile after the Frenchman suffered a groin injury in the FA Cup clash against Villa.

Former academy youngsters, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah are closing in on full returns to the team after participating in first-team training.

Reece James and Romeo Lavia remain long-term absentees with thigh injuries. Lesley Ugochukwu and Marc Cucurella are also out with hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.

Goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez is close to a return after resuming partial team training following the knee injury he suffered in the 2:0 defeat to Everton.

Predicted starting line-up 

Crystal Palace predicted starting lineup: Henderson; Munoz, Richards, Andersen, Mitchell; Hughes, Wharton, Lerma; Ayew, Mateta, Schlupp

Chelsea predicted starting lineup: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Gallagher, Palmer; Jackson

Prediction 

While Hodgson would be eager to give Palace fans a sense of hope in their clash against Chelsea, they lack the necessary components of the team to record their first victory since 2017. Key players such as Eze, Olise and Guehi would be missing, presenting Palace with an even more daunting task to cause Chelsea problems.

For Chelsea, they enter the game at the back of a dominant 3:1win against Villa and would aim to build momentum for an unlikely charge to secure a spot in Europe next season.

Chelsea will dominate proceedings and with key players like Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Jackson and Ben Chilwell all fit, a victory for Chelsea is the best possible result albeit with a slimmer scoreline as Palace would do everything to get a result in the game.