Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Prediction: Eagles to end rotten run against the Blues

Chelsea may have suffered defeat in midweek but the result was enough for them to reach the league phase of the Europa Conference League, and on Sunday (13:30), they go in search of back-to-back wins in the Premier League when they host Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

Read on for my Chelsea vs Crystal Palace prediction and all the latest team news and match odds ahead of this London derby.

Team News

Romeo Lavia impressed in Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Premier League season but has missed the Blues' last two matches through injury and is a major doubt ahead of Sunday's game.

Head coach Enzo Maresca is likely to stick with the starting XI that served him so well in the 6-2 annihilation of Wolves at Molineux last weekend, except for Mykhailo Mudryk, who was substituted at half-time for Pedro Neto, who assisted fellow sub Joao Felix for the final goal of the game in Wolverhampton.

Only hat-trick hero Madueke, Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez kept their starting spots for the 2-1 defeat to Servette in Switzerland on Thursday; Fernandez and Madueke are set to return to the lineup alongside the likes of Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

Football Odds

Despite intense speculation over his future, Palace have kept hold of captain Marc Guehi, fighting off a series of bids from Premier League rivals Newcastle United. The England international has lost his central defensive partner Joachim Andersen, however, after the Dane rejoined Fulham meaning Chris Richards and summer signing Chadi Riad are set to line up alongside him for the rest of the campaign in a three-man defence.

Palace lost 2-0 at home to West Ham United last time out in the Premier League, a result which could see head coach Oliver Glasner make changes to his starting XI.

Daichi Kamada will hope to regain his starting spot after netting his first Palace goal in Tuesday's 4-0 Carabao Cup victory over Norwich City, while last season's top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta should join him in the lineup after bagging a brace against the Canaries.

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Chelsea vs Crystal Palace page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Sunday's hosts are 4/7 to beat Palace for a 15th-straight game, giving them an implied win probability of 63.6%, while the Eagles are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to record a first victory over the Blues since October 2017, when Wilfried Zaha struck the winner in a 2-1 win.

The draw can be backed at 16/5, both teams to score at 4/7, and over 2.5 total goals at 1/2.

Anytime Scorer - Jean Philippe-Mateta @ 15/8

Not much needs to be said about this man now - he struck 16 times in the Premier League last season, enjoyed a stunning summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he netted five times for France en route to claiming a silver medal, and got off the mark for the 2024/25 campaign in style with a double against Norwich in midweek, including an acrobatic effort.

Mateta goes looking for his first of the new Premier League season at the third attempt on Sunday, and after seeing Wolves forwards Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen notch against the Blues last weekend, the 27-year-old should feel confident of adding the west Londoners to his victim list.

Double Chance & Both Teams to Score - Draw or Crystal Palace & Yes @ 21/10

Palace are pointless so far after following up a 2-1 defeat at Brentford with a home loss to West Ham, but I think the Carabao Cup triumph over Norwich will perk them up ahead of this short trip to Stamford Bridge.

The Eagles are on a rotten run against Chelsea but all bad things must come to an end, and I think this Sunday is where they put their foot down against the Blues. I'm not sure whether they will pick up all three points, but I'm backing them to avoid defeat and get on the scoresheet.

Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet under Maresca so far, a 2-0 win against Servette in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off at Stamford Bridge, and they conceded twice to the Swiss side on Thursday, the third time in four games they have let two goals in.

Maresca's men hammered Wolves last time out in the Premier League but I think Glasner will be prepared for what the Italian throws at his charges on Sunday, and a score draw could be on the cards.

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