Crystal Palace have been in terrible form recently, failing to win any of their last five Premier League matches. Chelsea have not fared much better themselves as they’ve struggled for most of this Premier League campaign.
Crystal Palace added some new faces to their team over the summer as they signed Matheus França from Brazilian club side Flamengo, English goalkeeper Dean Henderson from Premier League giants Manchester United, Rob Holding from Arsenal, and Jefferson Lerma from Bournemouth on a free transfer.
The Eagles also let go of the likes of Luka Milivojevic, Jack Butland, Wilfred Zaha, and Vicente Guaita who left for Shabab Al-Ahli, Rangers, Galatasaray, and Celta de Vigo, respectively on free transfers.
Chelsea FC was the busiest team in Europe during the summer transfer window, acquiring talent after talent and spending quite lavishly after securing the services of former Spurs and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues brought in a lot of young and exciting talents including Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion, Belgian defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton, Cole Palmer from last season’s champions Manchester City, Lesley Ugochukwu and Axel Disasi from Ligue 1 sides Stade Rennais and Monaco respectively, Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from Brighton and Christopher Nkunku from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Regarding departures, several notable names were allowed to leave and ply their trades elsewhere, including Kai Havertz who joined Premier League and London rivals Arsenal, and Mason Mount who also joined another of the Blues’ big rivals, Manchester United. And Mateo Kovacic joined reigning champions Manchester City as a replacement for Gundongan. Other exits include Kalidou Koulibaly to Al-Ahli, Christian Pulisic and Reuben Loftus-Cheek to Italian side AC Milan, Edouard Mendy to Al-Ahli, and Ethan Ampadu to Leeds United. Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Hakim Ziyech, David Fofana, and Lewis Hall secured loan transfers to Roma, Nottingham Forest, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Union Berlin, and Newcastle respectively. At the same time, Cesar Azpiliqueta, N’Golo Kante, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Tiemoué Bakayoko all left for Atletico Madrid, Al-Ittihad, Marseille and FC Lorient, respectively on free transfers.
Crystal Palace have found it difficult to grind out results this season, managing just four wins. Their recent form could have been better with the Eagles failing to win a single Premier League match from their last five, slumming to four defeats and managing one draw. The terrible run started on matchday 12 when Crystal Palace welcomed Everton to Selhurst Park in a five-goal thriller that saw the Eagles narrowly lose 3-2 before going ahead to suffer back-to-back defeats after Luton Town got the best of them in a keenly contested match. A 1-1 draw against West Ham United seemed to be some silver lining for the Eagles but further back-to-back home defeats have buried any hope of a resurgence.
Chelsea FC, despite spending big over the summer, are yet to start reaping the rewards on the pitch as they appear to be struggling under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues have not been mighty impressive recently, managing two wins, one draw, and two defeats in their last five Premier League matches. Their most recent loss came from long-time Premier League rivals Manchester United in a match that saw the Red Devils dominate every area of the pitch for the better part. The Blues conceded a penalty early on after Enzo’s late challenge on Antony inside the penalty box. Still, United captain Bruno Fernandes failed to score as Sanchez made an easy save. Chelsea eventually went a goal down just minutes later with McTominay finding the back of the net nineteen minutes in. Cole Palmer gave the Blues an equalizer against the run of play just before halftime. Still, Pochettino’s men, unable to offer much in the game conceded what proved to be the winning goal after McTominay headed the ball into the net from a Garnacho cross in the 69th minute.
At the time of writing, Crystal Palace is 15th on the Premier League table after managing 16 points from 16 games. The Eagles will desperately hope a good turn of events can help them avoid being dragged into the relegation battle. Chelsea sit in tenth place having 19 points from fifteen games. The Blues need a serious fortunes change to make it into European spots this season.
Statistics show that the head-to-head record between Crystal Palace and Chelsea heavily favors the Blues. Both teams have played 21 matches between them, with Palace managing 4 wins (scoring 15 goals) while Chelsea has 17 wins (scoring 40 goals).
Match tickets
The epic match at Selhurst Park in London kicks off on Saturday 10th February 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
The magnificent 25,486-capacity stadium is the place to be for this clash between two teams struggling to find their form this campaign.
Getting tickets for the Crystal Palace vs Chelsea tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Roy Hodgson’s Palace have found life in the Premier League this season difficult as they have struggled to churn out results. The Eagles have many key players on the sidelines, including Eberechi Eze and Rob Holding, dealing with ankle injuries. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson continues to recover from his thigh injury, while Cheick Doucoure is ruled out for the remainder of the season with an Achilles injury.
Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Ward, Anderson, Guehi, Clyne, Hughes, Richards, Lerma, Ayew, Edouard, Schlupp
Chelsea needs to find some form and consistency to save their season. Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Christopher Nkunku are all nursing knee injuries, while Ben Chilwell and Romeo Lavia are out with thigh and ankle injuries.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Cucurella, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Fernandez, Caicedo, Mudryk, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson
Prediction
Mauricio Pochettino hopes his side can show some character when they visit Selhurst Park while the Eagles look to make home advantage count.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Chelsea
