Chelsea football club will visit Selhurst Park this evening to take on 14th placed Crystal Palace for the second time this season. The last time they met was on November 9, 2019, in Stamford Bridge and the encounter ended 2-0 in favour of Chelsea.
The reverse fixture will take place at 6 pm tonight and it is a must-win for both clubs especially Chelsea that can not afford to drop a single point in their remaining 5 games if they are serious with their quest to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Crystal Palace current form
The last time Crystal Palace won a Premier League match was on the 20th of June when the league returned from the coronavirus break. They won 19th placed Bournemouth 0-2 away from home.
Afterwards, Crystal Palace had suffered three conservative defeats starting with 4-0 bashing by Liverpool on June 24, then 0-1 defeat to Burnley on June 29, and then 3-0 bashing by Leicester City on July 4. This means that in the last 4 games of the club, the South London side managed to win one and lost three games. In those 4 matches, Crystal Palace scored 2 goals and conceded 8 goals.
Chelsea current form
Chelsea football club have been in a superb form since the Premier League returned from the coronavirus break. Since June 21, Chelsea have won four matches out of five including FA Cup quarter-final victory against Leicester on June 28.
They defeated Aston Villa 1-2 away from home on June 21, four days later, they stunned Manchester City 2-1. However, when the fans of the club thought Frank Lampard led team would go all the way, West Ham United stunned them 3-2 on July 1.
Lampard ensured that the hangover of the defeat didn’t affect their next match as they came back to winning ways on July 4 to defeat Watford 3-0. In those last 5 matches, Chelsea scored 10 goals and conceded 6 goals.
Why the match is so important for Chelsea
Crystal Palace need this match as much as Chelsea need it because if they win, they can clamp as high as the 11th spot from the 14th spot which they are occupying with 42 points. However, if Chelsea lose the match, they may leave the 4th spot if the 5th placed Manchester United win their match against Aston Villa on Thursday.
Chelsea is currently occupying the 4th spot with just 57 points from 33 games below Leicester City with 58 points and above Manchester United with 55 points. None of these teams can afford to lose any of their five remaining games if they want to make it to the Champions League next season.
Team News: Chelsea
Chelsea football club would not be able to travel to Selhurst Park with their midfielder N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman is out with an hamstring injury he sustained in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Watford. Kante will be out for at least one more week.
The Blues would also be without their defender Fikayo Tomori who is still battling muscle Injury. Mateo Kovacic would not also be available for the match.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Alonso; Barkley, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic
Team News: Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have nothing to worry about in terms of injury as Christian Benteke has fully recovered and available for selection.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Cahill, Sakho, Van Aanholt; Ayew, McArthur, Milivojevic, Kouyate, Zaha; Benteke
