The Blues are on the 3rd place on the Premier League table, with two points fewer than Manchester City and Liverpool. To keep up with those two, Chelsea need to beat Crystal Palace. Considering that they’re a much better team and that the game is played at the Stamford Bridge, it appears that Chelsea are gonna win the Sunday’s game easily. This is why this Chelsea vs Crystal Palace prediction and betting tips will focus on goals, not the match outcome.
Chelsea
After getting injured in the game with Manchester United, Chelsea’s best played Eden Hazard has missed three matches. The question is will he be ready for the duel with Crystal Palace. Probably not, at least not for all 90 minutes.
But, even without Hazard in the team, Chelsea had no problems beating BATE in the Europa League, Burnley in the Premier League, and Derby County in the League Cup. So, even if he’s not ready, the Blues’ fans should not worry too much, particularly because most other Chelsea players are fit and ready for the game.
Winning this match seems like a priority for the Sarri’s boys, as it would keep them in the title race with Man City and Liverpool, who look like having no intention of slowing down any time soon. Winning games against teams from the lower half of the table is a must for Chelsea, not only cause of the points, but also because of keeping the good form going. Some tougher matches are coming in November, so the players need to go into them with their heads held up high.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are the team that put Arsenal’s winning form to an end last week, playing 2:2 with the Gunners. Both goals on that match were scored from the penalty spot, but this doesn’t undermine their success. In fact, they were the better team in that game. And one of the main reasons why that was the case is that Crystal Palace played that match on their turf.
Selhurst Park is the place where Crystal Palace won most of the points last season, but in 2018/2019 they have only 2 points after 5 rounds. Their away form is much better; they won 2 out of 5 games on the road. But, I doubt that will help them much on Sunday, as they’re visiting one of the best teams in the league.
Still, they’re traveling to Stamford Bridge hopeful of a good result, considering that they have a pretty decent score against Chelsea. In fact they won 2 out of 3 previous meetings with the Blues. But, none of those wins happened when Mauricio Sarri was at Chelsea’s helm.
Team News
Chelsea absentees:
- Eden Hazard (doubtful)
- Olivier Giroud (doubtful)
Crystal Palace absentees:
- Christian Benteke (injury)
- Joel Ward (injury)
- Scott Dann (injury)
Possible Lineups
Chelsea
Kepa – David Luiz, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Alonso – Jorginho, Kante, Barkley – Willian, Pedro, Morata
Crystal Palace
Hennessey – Sakho, Tomkkins, Wan-Bissaka, Van Aaholt – Kouyate, Milivojevic, Townsend, Meyer – Zaha, Ayew
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Prediction
Chelsea are just a much better team than Crystal Palace, so anything but a home win would be a big surprise. This especially goes because they’re playing at home and have a big motivation to win all 3 points. The only question is how large the goal difference is going to be?
I think that even without Hazard playing, Chelsea have the quality to score at least 2-3 goals on Sunday. Therefore, my advice is to bet on a high number of goals.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips
- Chelsea AH -1.5 @1.79 (1XBet)
- Over 2.5 Goals @1.53 (Unibet)