Palace head into this fixture seeking a first win in five league games and it is likely to be a tall order with the absence of Conor Gallagher but Eagles boss Patrick Vieira must get his side back into the winning habit.
DATE
19th February 2022
KICK OFF
3pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
Goals from Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Kurt Zouma gave the visitors a comprehensive half time lead in April 2021. Christian Benteke made the score look more respectable midway through the second half but Pulisic ended the scoring with his second and Chelsea’s fourth.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Christian Pulisic (9.1)
OFFICIALS
Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Nick Hopton. Fourth official: Michael Salisbury. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Nathan Ferguson (hamstring) has suffered a setback and is expected to be out for up to 6 weeks. Cheikhou Kouyate could return to the side with Conor Gallagher unable to face his parent club
CHELSEA – Reece James (thigh), Mason Mount (ankle) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (knock) are not expected to feature while Ben Chilwell (knee) is a long term absentee
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Wilfried Zaha (1), Reece James (1)
YELLOW CARDS (5+) – Joel Ward (6), Conor Gallagher (6), Marcus Alonso (6), Antonio Rudiger (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 14/08/21 Chelsea 3-0 Palace
- 10/04/21 Palace 1-4 Chelsea
- 03/10/20 Chelsea 4-0 Palace
- 07/07/20 Palace 2-3 Chelsea
- 09/11/19 Chelsea 2-0 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 12/02/22 Brentford 0-0 Palace
- 09/02/22 Norwich 1-1 Palace
- 05/02/22 Palace 2-0 Hartlepool
- 23/01/22 Palace 1-3 Liverpool
- 14/01/22 Brighton 1-1 Palace
Last FIVE results for Chelsea;
- 12/02/22 Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras
- 09/02/22 Al Hilal 0-1 Chelsea
- 05/02/22 Chelsea 2-1 Plymouth
- 23/01/22 Chelsea 2-0 Spurs
- 18/01/22 Brighton 1-1 Chelsea
RECORD AGAINST CHELSEA
- Played 58
- Won 11
- Drawn 15
- Lost 32
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Ben Chilwell 7.65
- Conor Gallagher 7.31
- Malang Sarr 7.29
- James McArthur 6.89
ONE TO WATCH
ROMELU LUKAKU
FORMER CLUBS – Rupel Boom, KFC Wintam, Lierse, Anderlecht, West Bromwich Albion (loan), Everton, Manchester United, Inter Milan
It may seem obvious to select a player that cost the Blues a reported club record fee of £97.5million to bring him back to Stamford Bridge, but the Belgian striker has been the shadow of his former self. However, finding the net at the World Club Cup competition last week may well get him back on the goal trail. Let’s just hope that is after this weekend!
KEY CLASH
CHEIKHOU KOUYATE v JORGINHO
With the absence of Gallagher and Will Hughes taking a knock which forced him to leave the pitch at Brentford last weekend, we could well see the return the AFCON winner to the starting line up. It would be a welcome return to the side as he has been missed in the Palace midfield and he will be up against Jorginho, who himself won a significant international tournament this year.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Chelsea have won their last 8 league games against Palace
- There has not been a draw in the past 21 league meetings, with Chelsea winning 17 and Palace 4
- Chelsea’s Premier League win rate of 76% versus Palace is the highest of any team to have played the same opponent at least 20 times
- Palace have managed just 2 league victories in their past 13 attempts and are winless in 5
- Their only victory in 16 Premier League derbies came versus Tottenham earlier this season
- However, the Eagles could beat 3 top-four opponents in the same top-flight campaign for the first time. They have already defeated Spurs and Manchester City this season
- Palace can equal the club top-flight record of scoring in 12 successive home matches, set from February to October 1990
- Michael Olise has scored 3 goals and assisted 4 in his past 7 appearances in all competitions. He’s averaging a goal or assist every 75 minutes this season
- Odsonne Edouard can become the first Palace player to score in four successive top-flight home matches since Mark Bright had a run of 5 between December 1990 to January 1991
- Chelsea’s most recent Premier League victory, against Tottenham, was just a second win in 8 top-flight matches
- The Blues could win back-to-back league games for the first time since October
- They have dropped points in 4 of their last five league away matches, after winning 6 of their opening 7 fixtures on the road this season.
- Their defeat at West Ham in December ended a run of 7 consecutive Premier League away wins in London derbies
- They could lose consecutive London derbies away from home for the first time since December 2017 – against Palace and West Ham
- The Blues have kept just 3 clean sheets in their past 14 league fixtures
- Christian Pulisic has scored a career-best 5 goals in his 5 league appearances against Palace, including 3 in 2 at Selhurst Park
- Romelu Lukaku is 2 short of 200 career league goals. He has scored 8 goals in 12 league matches against Palace
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Conor Gallagher (7 – 15th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Michael Olise (4 – 15th in PL)
- PASSES – Marc Guehi (1517 – 8th in PL)
- TACKLES – Tyrick Mitchell (69 – 2nd in PL)
- TOUCHES – Joel Ward (1772 – 8th in PL)
- SHOTS – Christian Benteke (39)
- SAVES – Guaita (57 – 13th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea’s former owner Ken Bates purchased the club for £1 in 1982 before selling it for £140 million in 2003 to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich
PREDICTION
Following their return from Abu Dhabi, Chelsea will be under pressure to try and make ground on league leaders Manchester City and second placed Liverpool. That will likely make it tough for Palace to get anything out of the game but there is a hope that the visitors may take some time to find their form in the league having not played since the 23rd January
FINAL SCORE: 2-1 win for Chelsea
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 9/2
- Draw – 27/10
- Away – 8/13
- Both teams to score – 10/11
RESOURCES
