Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

These two sides drew 1-1 earlier in the season, at a time when Chelsea were surging and Palace were struggling, so this could be a tough game for the Blues. Palace have lost only one of their last five games in the league, which was against Arsenal, while Chelsea are winless in their last three.

Both teams to score has occurred in four of Palace's last five and three of Chelsea's last five, so that looks like a pretty likely outcome in this one. Ultimately, we think the shares will be spoiled in what is a tough game to call. Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea.

Chelsea take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend as they look to bounce back from a poor run of results.

• Date: 04/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: Selhurst Park, South London

Crystal Palace head into this game in 15th place in the Premier League with 20 points from 19 games. It's been a fairly rough campaign on the whole for Palace, who came into this season expecting to kick on from a very strong end to last season under Oliver Glasner. However, owing to multiple factors, things haven't worked out that way, and although they've improved as the season has worn on, there is still a lot for this team to work on.

Palace are missing Michael Olise, and nobody has been able to step up to replace his level of productivity. Eberechi Eze has been short of last season's level too, and while some of this may be down to injury, the loss of Olise could have impacted the performances of the England international. Adam Wharton has also missed a huge chunk of the season with injury, and even in the time he was playing, he was doing so with an injury, so his return should be a huge boost to the side.

Palace came into the season with hopes of European football, but given where they are now, a top-half finish is a more realistic goal. There are rumours of Palace strengthening the team in January, with a left-back and a creative forward seemingly the priority, so if they were to get that right, it would certainly aid them in their quest to ascend up the league table.

They face a tough test here, but Chelsea's form is starting to wane, so to their fortune, the Eagles might just be playing Enzo Maresca's team at the right time.

Chelsea come into this game in 4th in the league table with 35 points from 19 games. Overall, the Blues have been much improved this season and look to finally be heading in the right direction as a club. It's taken an eye-watering sum of money, and they're still probably not a realistic league title contender, but they are a functional team now and are well on track to return to the Champions League.

There was talk of Chelsea being a legitimate title contender not long ago, but a three-match winless run in the last few weeks has tarnished their reputation, with several cracks in the team's makeup starting to emerge. Chelsea have faced a string of resolute defensive teams that have aimed to sit back and frustrate them in recent outings, and the Blues have looked short of answers, unable to consistently unlock organised low block defences. Chelsea have largely excelled in transitions this season, and with teams now seemingly setting up to frustrate them, they have new puzzles to tackle, so they're going to have to adapt their approach if they want to continue down the path they've been on.

The Blues have a strong squad, but they have a manager in Enzo Maresca who is personally opposed to transition football and has repeatedly claimed that the ultimate goal is for his side to become a possession-heavy team. It may be time for him to speed up that transformation, but the bigger question is whether or not that yields the kind of improvement he thinks it will.

This game will not be televised live in the UK, but full radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio 5 Live.

Crystal Palace Team News:

Crystal Palace come into this game without Adam Wharton and Matheus França, both of whom are out injured.

After a win against Southampton last time out, Oliver Glasner could stick with a similar XI that started that game, although Marc Guéhi could come in for Chris Richards as he returns from a suspension.

Predicted lineup: Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guéhi; Muñoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Ese; Mateta.

Chelsea Team News:

The Blues have a fairly lengthy absentee list, with Wesley Fofana, Roméo Lavia, Benoît Badiashile, Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Mykhailo Mudryk all missing for a variety of reasons.

Following a defeat in their latest game, changes will likely be on the cards, with Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho in contention to return to the starting lineup.

Predicted lineup: Sánchez; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernández, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson.

Crystal Palace:

Crystal Palace enter this game with two wins, one draw and two losses from their last five games. The Eagles took on Southampton in their most recent game and came out 2-1 winners, with Trevoh Chalobah and Eberechi Eze scoring the goals. That result came after a 0-0 draw away at Bournemouth and a 1-5 hammering at the hands of Arsenal.

Prior to that, Palace were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal in the League Cup, where Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah scored the goals, after claiming a very impressive 3-1 win over Brighton, courtesy of a brace from Ismaïla Sarr and a goal from Chalobah.

Chelsea:

Chelsea's form has been wobbling of late, as they come into this one with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their last five matches. The Blues faced off against relegation-threatened Ipswich in their most recent game and fell to a 2-0 defeat in what was a poor performance.

Prior to that, a late comeback from the visitors saw Fulham overturn a Cole Palmer goal to win 2-1 thanks to Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz, which followed a 0-0 draw against Everton.

Those results were preceded by a 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers in the Conference League - where a Marc Guiu hat-trick and goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Cucurella sealed a convincing win - and a 2-1 win over Brentford thanks to Nicolas Jackson and Cucurella.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day