Chelsea Next Up For Palace After Week Of Speculation

It has been a turbulent week since the trouncing on the South Coast which will sting for some time, and with several rumours about the managerial position, it remains a question as to whether Roy Hodgson will still be in charge come Monday.

MATCH INFORMATION

• 8pm – 12th February 2024
• Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU

PREVIOUS MEETING

The last time Chelsea came to visit they returned to Stamford Bridge with all three point. It was Palace who scored early though through Odsonne Edouard but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levelled things up heading in the break. Just as the game was heading for a draw, up stepped former Palace loanee Conor Gallagher who stepped off the bench to score the winner. 

MAN OF THE MATCH – Conor Gallagher (7.6)

MATCH OFFICIALS

PALACE – Cheick Doucoure, Rob Holding, Ebere Eze, Michael Olise, Marc Guehi, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyo are unavailable. Joel Ward may face a late fitness test. 

CHELSEA – Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Benoit Badiashile, and Lesley Ugochukwa are unavailable. 

DISCIPLINARY RECORD

RED CARDS – Jordan Ayew (1), Conor Gallagher (1), Reece James (10) Malo Gusto (1)

YELLOW CARDS (5+) – Nicolas Jackson (8), Cole Palmer (6), Enzo Fernandes (6), Moises Caicedo (6), Malo Gusto (5), Raheem Sterling (5), Marc Cucurella (5), Axel Disasi (5), Ben Chilwell (5)

FORM GUIDE

Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;

• 27/12/23 Chelsea 2-1 Palace
• 15/01/23 Chelsea 1-0 Palace
• 01/10/22 Palace 1-2 Chelsea
• 17/04/22 Chelsea 2-0 Palace
• 19/02/22 Palace 0-1 Chelsea

Last FIVE results for Palace:

• 03/02/24 Brighton 4-1 Palace
• 30/01/24 Palace 3-2 Sheffield United
• 20/01/24 Arsenal 5-0 Palace
• 17/01/24 Everton 1-0 Palace
• 04/01/24 Palace 0-0 Everton

Last FIVE results for Chelsea;

• 07/02/24 Villa 1-3 Chelsea
• 04/02/24 Chelsea 2-4 Wolves
• 31/01/24 Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea
• 26/01/24 Chelsea 0-0 Villa
• 23/01/24 Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough

LEAGUE POSITION

Heading into the fixture, Palace are 14th in the Premier League with 24 points from 23 games, while Chelsea are 11th with 31 points. 

RECORD AGAINST CHELSEA

• Played 63
• Won 11
• Drawn 15
• Lost 37

FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED

• Michael Olise 7.54
  
• Eberechi Eze 7.25
• Cole Palmer 7.03
• Conor Gallagher 6.98

ONE TO WATCH

COLE PALMER

FORMER CLUBS – Manchester City

Eyebrows were raised when Palmer opted to be one of the many additions at Stamford Bridge last summer, but he has settled in very well indeed with 10 goals from 19 games this season, and perhaps the shining light in what has been a difficult season for the free spending Blues. 

KEY CLASH

JEFFERSON LERMA v CONOR GALLAGHER

The Colombian international was perhaps the only player to leave the South Coast with any credit last Saturday and he will be up against our former loanee who has already come back to haunt us. Here’s hoping lightning does not strike twice. 

PRE-MATCH STATS

• GOALS – Odsonne Edouard/ Michael Olise (6)
• ASSISTS – Jordan Ayew (5 – 16th in PL)
• PASSES – Joachim Andersen (1,370 – 16th in PL)
• TACKLES – Tyrick Mitchell (59 – 7th in PL)
• TOUCHES – Joachim Andersen (1,683 – 20th in PL)
• SHOTS – Ebere Eze (48 – 15th in PL)
• FOULS – Jordan Ayew (33 – 9th in PL)
• DISPOSSESSED – Jordan Ayew (59 – 1st in PL)
• SAVES – Sam Johnstone (34 – 19th in PL)
• CLEARANCES – Joachim Andersen (112 – 2nd in PL)
• BIG CHANCES MISSED – Jordan Ayew/ Odsonne Edouard (4)

THE PRESSER

ROY HODGSON

“When the fans turn it’s the worst possible scenario but you can understand it as we haven’t got going. It’s the fact of life, we can’t change it with no words of mine or explanation. We have to get on with it and do the best we can for them. They are letting us know they’re not happy, we take it on board and on the chin because they have the right to do so.

There’s always speculation when there’s a bad run, so why should I be any different? It’s not in my control, it doesn’t affect my daily work or selecting the team and tactics. It’s from the outside and one has no option but to let things go by and accept it as part of football life.

We have lost all three of them [Eze, Olise, Guehi]. It’s a massive blow and another element of incredible bad luck. Injuries do happen and that’s the bottom line. When you’ve got a player like Michael on the bench, you can’t say to sit there and watch the game – that’s unfair but it’ another serious injury for him, which is absolutely devastating.”

MAURICIO POCHETTINO

“I think it’s difficult to say that’s the starting XI in my mind. Little by little we are recovering players, they need time to reach the level we expect from them. The way we train and the players behave, the attitude we are showing, we are improving.

I think before the Villa game we had some good performances and after we were not consistent enough. Maybe it can be the starting point for us to be consistent and have more often this type of performance. I think the players deserve it because they have been working really hard from the beginning of season. This type of result showed the talent, quality we have in our squad.

Roy is my friend, I admire him, he’s an unbelievable coach. He is working really well. There’s always the pressure when you lose one or two games in a row. There’s no doubt he will be successful with Palace, hopefully after our game.”

TEB PREDICTION

It is so difficult to know what to expect on Monday night, particularly after the manner of defeat against Brighton last weekend. There has to be some kind of reaction but without Eze and Olise the side just looks so one dimensional. Much will depend on the starting line up but missing Guehi as well just makes things that much more difficult. The crowd reaction will no doubt play a big part in the proceedings but we are hoping for a performance, if not a result from this fixture. 

FINAL SCORE: 2-1 to Chelsea

RESOURCES

• Who Scored
• Physio Room
• HOL Online
• BBC Sport