Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

Stamford Bridge sets the stage for an all-London Premier League showdown between Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

Chelsea qualified for the Europa Conference League by the skin of their teeth, overcoming Servette in the playoff round 3-2 on aggregate despite going down 2-1 in Switzerland during the week. However, Enzo Maresca’s side should enter this contest in high spirits after thrashing Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-2 last weekend to bounce back from a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City on the opening Premier League matchday. It was the first time Chelsea have scored six goals in away league action since April 2022. ‘More of the same, please’ will be on Maresca’s mind this weekend as the Blues seek their 14th consecutive win against Crystal Palace, which would see them equal the longest-ever winning run against a single opponent in English Football League history.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace ended last season on a high, leading everyone to believe German manager Oliver Glasner could steer the Eagles to an unlikely European finish this term. However, losing standout forward Michael Olise in a big-money transfer to Bayern Munich has seemingly taken the wind out of their sails, with the London outfit losing both league matches to West Ham and Brentford by an aggregate score of 4-1. Therefore, an emphatic 4-0 win against second-tier Norwich City in midweek League Cup action was a timely boost for Crystal Palace as they bid to recover from losing their opening two league fixtures for the first time since 2017/18. That’s well within Palace’s reach, considering they’ve only lost one of their last four away league games (W2, D1).