Crystal Palace Vs. Chelsea Prediction: The Blues Want To Start A Mastermind In The New Year

JAKARTA - Chelsea will start in 2025 with an away match to Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace in the Premier League continued, Saturday night, January 4. After ending 2024 with two disappointing defeats, Enzo Maresca's side will look for momentum to bounce back.

Chelsea, who had recorded eight consecutive wins after the November international break, are now experiencing a decline in performance with three matches without a win. The successive defeat to Fulham and Ipswich Town at the end of the year saw the Blues drop to fourth in the standings, 10 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

The 0-2 defeat to Ipswich was in the spotlight, in which Chelsea dominated possession and the number of shots, but failed to create significant threats. In fact, they have the potential to record three away games without scoring in the Premier League for the first time since 2019.

However, Selhurst Park became a friendly place for Chelsea. The Blues have won 12 of their 15 visits to Palace's home in the Premier League, including 14 straight wins that just stopped at the first meeting of the season with a score of 1-1.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace shows signs of revival after a bad start to the season. Oliver Glasner's side have now lost only twice in their last 11 games. However, their home performance is still a problem, with only two wins in 10 home games this season.

The 2-1 win over Southampton in the last match was an important asset for Palace, who is currently in 15th place in the standings, five points above the relegation zone.

Crystal Palace will be strengthened again by their captain, Marc Guehi, who missed the previous match due to suspension. However, Adam Wharton still couldn't play due to a groin injury.

Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma are expected to remain the mainstays in midfield, while Ismaila Sarr, who has impressed in attack, will again become a major threat to opponents.

Chelsea are expected to return to field their main players after the experiment in the match against Ipswich did not go as expected. Robert Sanchez is likely to return under the bar, replacing Filip Jorgensen who made a fatal mistake.

Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto, who missed the previous match, will also return to the starting XI. Reece James has returned to the squad, but it has not been confirmed whether he will appear from the start, while Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile are still sidelined due to injury.

Chelsea must immediately end their bad trend of defending their position in the top four. Meanwhile, Palace will hope their solid performance in recent matches can come as a surprise.

Estimated Lineup Of Players

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze.

Chelsea: Sachez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Score Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea