Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Prediction: Eagles can add the pressure on Pochettino

Crystal Palace will look to extend their unbeaten run to three matches when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday in the Premier League.

The Eagles have dropped to within six points of the bottom three, but successive draws have lightened the mood of Roy Hodgson and his coaching staff. Chelsea played in the first Premier League match on Christmas Day since 1995 on Sunday, but they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Wolves at Molineux.

Match Odds

Chelsea are unbeaten in matches in all competitions at Stamford Bridge, and they are available at 8/11 to pick up another three points in front of their own supporters. The draw is 11/4, while Palace are 18/5 to secure a rare away victory.

Those who fancy both teams to score can back that at 4/5, while over 2.5 goals is available at the same price.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is the favourite to score anytime at 13/8, despite a disappointing performance against Wolves last time out, where he spurned several chances to score.

Team News

Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino is going to need to turn to his bench for the clash, with holding midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury against Wolves.

Fellow midfielders Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer picked up yellow cards during that contest, meaning they are banned for the clash at Stamford Bridge.

Palace manager Hodgson could give Eberechi Eze the chance to impress from the start as he continues to try to reach full fitness, having featured for 20 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Brighton.

Apart from that, Palace have no other players returning from injury, with Hodgson hoping to build some consistency.

Draw @ 11/4

Chelsea's recent record at home suggests they will be difficult to break down on Wednesday, and while they lost to Wolves, they should have done much better after 90 minutes.

Pochettino's side missed numerous opportunities at 0-0, and if they can take the positives from that performance, they can pick up a result once again.

However, Sterling and Palmer's absence means they are without their two most creative players, and it is tough to see where they will carve open Palace.

The Eagles' successive draws suggest they are starting to tighten up under Hodgson, and they would settle for a point at their London rivals, having lost the last 12 meetings between the two clubs.

Total Goals - Under 2.5 @ 10/11

Without Sterling and Palmer, we expect Chelsea to struggle to create chances, but they should also find it tough to convert without them. The pair have shown the most composure of late, and the constant changes to Pochettino's team are doing nobody any good.

Three of their last five at Stamford Bridge have contained under 2.5 goals, and we expect a low-scoring battle between two teams that need to make changes in January.