Chelsea will host Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Both sides come into this London derby following solid performances in the previous campaign, setting the stage for a competitive match.
- Date: 17/08/2025
- Kick-off: 2:00pm
- Location: Stamford Bridge, West London
Chelsea finished fourth last season with 69 points, with 64 goals scored and 43 conceded - a clear marker of progression under Enzo Maresca. The Blues bolstered their growing reputation under Maresca during the summer and now enter this season as world champions following their victorious Club World Cup campaign. As such, there is now a significant amount of expectation that the side will mount a push for the Premier League title, given they've shown the level they can play at.
Chelsea, as always, have been extremely busy in the transfer window this summer, with Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, and Jorell Hato all joining the club, while Willian Estevao has also joined the squad following his signing last year. There is, however, now a major concern in defence with Levi Colwill likely to miss the season with an ACL injury, and Enzo Maresca has been vocal about needing a replacement for the England man.
Crystal Palace concluded the 2024-25 season in twelfth place with 53 points, 51 goals scored and 51 conceded. Despite their unremarkable league finish, it turned out to be the best campaign in the club's history as they confirmed themselves as FA Cup winners following a 1-0 win in the final against Manchester City.
Unfortunately, their summer has been marred by off-the-pitch battles with UEFA over their status in European competition, with disputes over the involvement of owner John Textor, who was deemed to have conflicting interests given his involvement in Lyon. As a result, Palace have been relegated to the Conference League, something that has disrupted their transfer business thus far.
In left-back Borna Sousa, Palace have brought in only one outfield player, and while they've so far kept last season's squad together, that looks likely to change in the coming weeks. Eberechi Eze is the subject of a transfer bid from Tottenham, while Marc Guehi has only one year left on his deal and is not short of suitors. Such disruption could affect the team heading into Sunday's game, and it remains to be seen what involvement Eze in particular will have this weekend.
