? Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Premier League Match Preview

Competition: Premier League

Date: Saturday, 9 November 2019

Time: 12:30 PM (UK time)

Venue: Stamford Bridge

Last season: Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace

Referee: Mike Dean

Chelsea

welcome

Crystal Palace

to Stamford Bridge in a tricky fixture. Despite their position in the top four, they have struggled to win their home matches.

Chelsea

have

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only won 3 of 9 games at Stamford Bridge this season. Thus, they hope to move on and get a win this weekend, sending the team off right to the final international break of the calendar year.

Chelsea

come in with a six-point lead over fifth-place Arsenal, and depending on how Manchester City (away at Liverpool) and Leicester City (home to Arsenal) do, they could even finish the weekend in second.

Palace

are solidly mid-table but they could give

Chelsea

a severe test at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues

have enjoyed a favorable run of fixtures, with Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton, Newcastle United, Burnley, and Watford all coming in succession.

Nevertheless,

Lampard’s side

were under pressure to start turning performances into results, something which has proven easier since they narrowly lost out to leaders Liverpool.

Despite the natural positives,

Chelsea

are yet to convince in front of their home supporters, a trend which continued against Ajax in the

on Tuesday night.

Lampard

was quick to praise the character of his side, who came back from a 4-1 deficit, but their opponents had outclassed them for much of the game until the freak double dismissal of each of their center-backs.

Chelsea

's frailties at the back were also exposed once again, with two own goals coming as a result of their lack of concentration at set pieces and a further double being conceded as a result of poor defending.

Nine goals have now been shipped from four outings in all competitions, leaving

Lampard

under pressure to find a solution if his team are going to remain in the hunt for the second position.

 In general, it has been a strong few weeks for the west Londoners, although that outlook may change if they fail to see off

Palace

at the weekend.

While a three-match winless streak has left

Palace

back down in mid-table, Roy Hodgson will still be relatively satisfied with his side's start to the campaign.

Their biggest priority was to stay clear of the relegation zone, and

the Eagles

currently find themselves seven points clear of the bottom three.

With just two points separating

Palace

and fifth-placed Arsenal, Hodgson and his team now have the freedom to attempt to break into the top six at a time when the majority of the clubs around them are producing their best form.

The Gunners, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur may eventually put together a run of results which catapults them back into the mix further up the table, but Palace have the opportunity to make the step up that they have always threatened since Hodgson's arrival.

Seven points have come from away games at Arsenal, Man United, and West Ham United this season, and it would not come as a huge surprise if Palace emerged victorious against one of their London rivals.

Despite the one-sided defeats to Manchester City and Leicester City at Selhurst Park,

Palace

have come from behind to earn four points from losing positions in their last two derby showdowns.

As well as wanting to end

Palace

's streak without a clean sheet, Gary Cahill will be keen to impress against his former club having sat out much of his final year at

Chelsea

.

Aware of possible interest from

the Blues

, long-serving Wilfried Zaha may also relish the chance to finally net his first goal of the season.

Head-to-head:

·        

Saturday's contest will represent the 55th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with

Chelsea

registering 27 wins in comparison to just 12 victories for

Palace

.

·        

However, while

the Blues

have prevailed in their last three games,

Palace

recorded back-to-back triumphs in 2017, one of which came at Stamford Bridge.

·        

Sixteen matches and 24 years have passed since this fixture ended in a draw, with the last stalemate coming at the home of

the Blues

in March 1995.

Key Statistics:

·        

Chelsea

have won six of their last eight home league games against

Crystal Palace

, losing the other two in August 2015 and April 2017.

·        

Since returning to the

Premier League

in 2013-14, Crystal Palace have won four of their 12 league games against

Chelsea

, double how many they'd beaten

the Blues

in their 22 previous top-flight encounters between 1969-2005 (W2 D9 L11).

·        

Chelsea

have won their last three London derbies in the

, their best run since winning five in a row between October and December 2014 under José Mourinho.

·        

Since the start of last season, only Liverpool (18), Manchester City (18) and

Chelsea

(14) have won more

Premier League

away games than Crystal Palace (11).

·        

Crystal Palace

have won two of their last four away London derbies in the Premier League (D1 L1), as many as they had in their previous 15 such matches (W2 D3 L10).

·        

Chelsea

are looking to win six consecutive

Premier League

games for the first time since May 2017 under Antonio Conte, in their last title-winning season.

·        

Chelsea

's Christian Pulisic has scored in each of his last two

Premier League

appearances - only three Americans have scored in three in a row; Clint Dempsey (three times - 2007, 2009 and 2012), Joe Max-Moore (2000), and Roy Wegerle (1993).

·        

Chelsea

boss Frank Lampard could become the seventh English manager to win six consecutive Premier League matches and the first since Alan Pardew in April 2012 with Newcastle United.

·        

Tammy Abraham has scored nine goals in 13

Premier League

games for

Chelsea

. If he scores in this game, he'd be the second-youngest player to reach double figures in the competition for

the Blues

(22y 38d) after Arjen Robben (21y 342d), while only Diego Costa (9) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (11) will have done so in fewer games.

·        

Crystal Palace

's Jordan Ayew could become the fourth player in

Premier League

history to score away against Arsenal, Manchester United, and

Chelsea

within the same campaign, after Robbie Earle (1995-96), Darren Bent (2008-09), and Ashley Barnes (2018-19).

Chelsea

manager Lampard said after a stunning comeback to draw with Ajax: “There weren’t too many negatives. Some were freakish and some were on us, goals we don’t like to concede. To come back and to draw the game, we should take the positives. The fans were great. It starts with us.”

Palace

boss Hodgson said: “Frank Lampard has done a very good job, there is no question about that. The club have (also) done a good job in encouraging the manager and his staff to blood some of the players that had previously been out on loan. Everyone at the club deserves a pat on the back for that.”

Most injured players:

Mason Mount has been included in the squad for Saturday's fixture

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despite sustaining an ankle injury against Ajax. However, Ross Barkley, who has been carrying a similar problem, has been ruled out by Lampard.

Providing that he comes through training unscathed this week, N'Golo Kante will come in for Jorginho, who serves a one-match ban for five yellow cards.

Emerson Palmieri should return at left-back in place of Marcos Alonso, with Reece James having to sit on the substitutes' bench.

On the other hand, for Palace, James McArthur is regarded as a major doubt after suffering a back injury against Leicester last weekend.

While Cahill and Cheikhou Kouyate sustained head injuries during the same match, both players are expected to return to form.

Mamadou Sakho and Andros Townsend are likely to remain on the sidelines.

Possible starting lineups:

Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Palmieri; Kante, Kovacic; Willian, Mount, Hudson-Odoi; Abraham

Crystal Palace XI:

Guaita; Ward, Tomkins, Cahill, Van Aanholt; McCarthy, Kouyate, Milivojevic; Schlupp, Zaha, Ayew