Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Prediction & Betting Tips - Premier League

Prediction published on 30/09/2020, 03:49  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 30/09/2020 at 03:56 in Premier League Prediction

Chelsea have not had it easy so far in the season despite the heavy investment in the transfer market and will be hoping their home match against Crystal Palace comes with some positivity. The Blues have collected four points from their opening three league games and are placed ninth, while Palace have six points and in sixth place. Chelsea head to this game right on the back of two disappointing results, the most recent saw them dumped out of the Carabao Cup, by Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues led for most of the game after Timo Werner’s first goal for the club but with seven minutes to go they were pegged back and went on to lose on penalties. The result extended the shaky start for Chelsea in the season; their win over Brighton at the start of the season was labored, and they went on to lose to Liverpool at home. Their third game produced a big win, beating Championship side Barnsley 6-0 but when they got back to facing top flight sides they struggled, coming from three down to draw with West Bromwich Albion, then came the Spurs game. The results for Chelsea have not reflected the huge transfer budget dedicated for manager Frank Lampard but they will take positives in the performance of new keeper Edouard Mendy against Spurs and the fact that Werner opened his goal scoring account. What will concern Lampard more going to the Crystal Palace game, is that despite strengthening in all departments, his side’s only clean sheet has come in the Carabao Cup, against a lower league side. They have conceded seven goals in five matches so far, with three keepers used in the process, amid changes in defence. On the flipside though, they have scored in all except one of the five matches and the manager will be particularly impressed by their fighting spirit after coming from three goals down in their last league match.

One other factor Lampard will be banking on, is Chelsea’s home form; the team has eight wins in the last 10 home matches and the former England international will do with a lift at home. They have also managed to score two or more in seven of the last 10 home matches and will be forgiven for having lost to Bayern Munich and Liverpool in the 10 home games. In both losses, Chelsea had a man sent off too. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, had their fine start to the Premier League halted with a loss at home to another fine starter, Everton, in their last match. After starting off with two straight wins in the league, Palace were hit 2-1 by Everton in their last match, and having been eliminated from the Carabao Cup earlier, they had no midweek assignment. In their last away match, Palace beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and will be hoping to replicate the same at Stamford Bridge. Wilfried Zaha will be key for Palace if they are to do this, having scored three goals already, and he will definitely know how shaky the Chelsea defence has been. Palace manager Roy Hodgson will however head to Stamford Bridge concerned at his side’s form away from home. Well, they started well against Manchester United, but that came on the back of four straight away losses in the league, and they did not score a goal in the four losses, while they conceded two or more in each of them. The team won just five of their 19 away matches in the league last season, including a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, and with five straight losses against Chelsea, they will need to be at their best to get a positive result here. The visitors have conceded two goals or more in four of their last five meetings with Chelsea but have scored in five of their last seven meetings.