This Friday sees the return of the Premier League, but our attention is diverted to the London derby on the 1st September between Chelsea and Crystal Palace in game week 3 at 1:30 PM.
Stamford Bridge will host this Premier League clash between West London and South London as both teams are looking to bank some early points and progress up the league table.
For Chelsea, the end goal will be to break into the top four places and claim a spot in the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League to repay the massive investment from Todd Boehly. Time will tell how former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca will lead the the Blues, but they don’t come tougher than an opening day contest against Manchester City. And an away trip to Wolves in week 2 is a potential banana skin too, although helped by signing arguably their best player Neto.
The squad is a bloated one and a young one as well, so may need time to gel. The talent level of the team suggests that a lot of the players in this squad have the ability and self-belief that they should be starting every game. It will be difficult to keep such a big squad happy and the manager has to find the right balance between finding his core of most trusted players and keeping those that will be on the fringes happy.
On top of that, Enzo Fernandez may still disrupt the team harmony despite his Argentina singing antics going unpunished. He was then rewarded with the captains armband in the last friendly against Inter, but it remains to be seen how that approach will pan out.
If Chelsea can find the right balance and harmony in the team, then they will become a formidable force, particularly at home. Especially if Cole Palmer can continue his fine form from last season.
But it can’t be overlooked that signing 9 players for £189m this summer seems excessive, especially when you consider the embarrassment of riches they already have. Yes, they have recouped £101m by selling fringe players Ian Maatsen (to Villa), Lewis Hall (Newcastle) and Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich), but the competition for places remains fierce.
With Chelsea being in the Europa Conference League though, there will be enough matches for the squad to play but at the moment, the challenge of Crystal Palace is their most pressing matter and three points will be the minimum requirement.
| Player |
Position |
Age | Nationality | Signed from | Price |
| Pedro Neto | Right Winger | 24 | Portugal | Wolves | €60m |
| Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | Central Midfield | 25 | England | Leicester City | €35.4m |
| Filip Jørgensen | Goalkeeper | 22 | Denmark | Villarreal | €24.5m |
| Omari Kellyman | Attacking Midfield | 18 | England | Aston Villa | €22.5m |
| Aarón Anselmino | Centre-Back | 19 | Argentina | Boca Juniors | €16.5m |
| Renato Veiga | Defensive Midfield | 20 | Portugal | Basel | €14m |
| Caleb Wiley | Left-Back | 19 | United States | Atlanta United FC | €10.1m |
| Marc Guiu | Centre-Forward | 18 | Spain | Barcelona | €6m |
| Tosin Adarabioyo | Centre-Back | 26 | England | Fulham | free |
Their opponents, Crystal Palace, ended last season with a seven-match unbeaten run. In that time, they won six games and only drew one. This late-season surge saw them finish 10th in the League. They have shown themselves as a team that is good enough to challenge at the top half under Oliver Glasner and Chelsea will provide another stern test to start the season.
They will be a formidable team to play against as they are fearless and aggressive in their play both on the offensive and the defensive side of the game. They play a modern, attractive style and the coaching ability of Oliver Glasner has shown itself to be a breath of fresh air for the Eagles’ faithful. With the Austrian at the helm, the club feel like they are moving in a positive direction.
“This is what I can promise: that this is always our basic. This is the only thing I expect from my players in every game, that we give 100% to win this game. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you have a bad day, but you always can give your best,” these were the words of the Austrian in his first-ever press conference with the Eagles back in February.
This is a team committed to playing at full throttle against any side they come up against. They will not be fazed by the challenge of Chelsea and they will be looking to secure all three points at the Bridge.
But how they will fare without talisman Michael Olise will be the real test, although replacement Ismaïla Sarr has Premier league experience with Watford. With Palace signing Chadli Riad, it does seem they are prepared to let vice captain Marc Guéhi go if Newcastle show the money. But even the most ardent Eagles fan would rue that sale and prefer Joachim Andersen to be the centre back lost. Both however, would be a disaster.
Opening Fixtures
| 18.08.24 | Chelsea | vs | Manchester City |
| 18.08.24 | Brentford | vs | Crystal Palace |
| 25.08.24 | Crystal Palace | vs | West Ham United |
| 25.08.24 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | vs | Chelsea |
| 01.09.24 | Chelsea | vs | Crystal Palace |
Match Tickets
Tickets for the game between Chelsea and Crystal Palace are up for sale on the websites of both clubs. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at Stamford Bridge for their second home game of the new season, meaning fans might need other sources to get Chelsea vs Crystal Palace tickets. The iconic ground will be rocking for Maresca’s Blues as they expect their team to come away with all three points.
The game will be played at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, 1st of September at 1:30 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Previous Results
You’ve got to go back until the 14th October 2017 for the last time Chelsea didn’t come up triumphant, when Palace won 2-1. And in that run of 14 Chelsea wins in a row, they scored 33 and conceded just 9.
| 14-Oct-17 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 10-Mar-18 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 04-Nov-18 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 30-Dec-18 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 09-Nov-19 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 07-Jul-20 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 2-3 | Premier League |
| 03-Oct-20 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 10-Apr-21 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 1-4 | Premier League |
| 14-Aug-21 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 19-Feb-22 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 17-Apr-22 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 01-Oct-22 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 15-Jan-23 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 27-Dec-23 | Chelsea v Crystal Palace | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 12-Feb-24 | Crystal Palace v Chelsea | 1-3 | Premier League |
Team news
Romeo Lavia is the major absentee from the squad after he suffered a muscle injury towards the end of last season that has side-lined him for months. It is unlikely that he will recover in time for the Palace game but Chelsea has enough quality in that position to fill in for the Frenchman.
Crystal Palace have got a clean bill of health and their squad selection for the match against the Blues will be one that has their strongest players starting. New signings Sarr, Chadli Riad and Daichi Kamada will be ready to start for their new club as well.
Lineups
Arguably Chelsea’s most bloated position is in central defence and in goal. It will be a challenge for Enzo Maresca to find the central defensive partnership due to the sheer number of centre backs in the team but Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill might be the preferred defence for this match with Thiago Silva leaving on a free transfer.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Chilwell, Dewsbury-Hall, Caicedo, Enzo, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson.
Crystal Palace are going to line up in their favoured 3-4-2-1 formation to have numerical advantages both in the defensive and the midfield phases of play. They will also try to create that numerical superiority with their defensive structure to keep their opponents out.
Palace were without Cheik Oumar Doucure for the start of Glasner’s reign, but the 24-year-old midfielder will surely be a key player for the Eagles, forming a strong partnership with Adam Wharton at the base of the midfield. I
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Clyne, Guehi, Andersen, Munoz, Doucoure, Wharton, Mitchell, Kamada, Eze, Mateta.
Prediction
Both sides are capable of playing very expansive football and this match will be an exciting one to watch as a result. Chelsea is the obvious favourites for this match and they will aim to make their presence felt early on in the match. Palace will do what they can to wrestle dominance away from Chelsea and also impose themselves but would struggle without Olise and Guehi.
Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace
Further Reading
