Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Predictions

• Crystal Palace are winless in ten matches in all competitions
• The last three meetings finished as draws, with all three featuring no more than two goals
• Palace haven’t beaten Chelsea in 17 attempts
• 13 goals have been scored for Chelsea by players classed as midfielder this term

Palace struggles likely to continue

Crystal Palace’s FA Cup victory suddenly looks a long time ago with the south London side embroiled in a period of turmoil, and we predict more misery for the Eagles this weekend.

The cup holders were dumped out by non-league side Macclesfield in the third round earlier this month and that high-profile loss came in a ten-match sequence which has seen Palace fail to record a victory.

And to make matters worse, influential skipper Marc Guehi has jumped ship to join Manchester City, while manager Oliver Glasner has also signalled his intention to quit the club at the end of the season. It’s questionable whether the Austrian will last that long, as a public falling out with the Crystal Palace hierarchy, has only exacerbated the situation and results on the pitch are doing little to help.

Working in Palace’s favour is the fact they have had all week to prepare for this clash, while Chelsea were grinding out a 1-0 win over Pafos in the Champions League on Wednesday.

However, it’s unlikely to swing things too much Palace’s way, as the Blues have the squad to cope with such a schedule and they have developed a knack from grinding out positive results despite not being at their best.

New head coach Liam Rosenior has overseen three wins since replacing Enzo Maresca in the Stamford Bridge dugout earlier this month, and another victory looks to be forthcoming on Sunday.

The Blues were flattered by last week’s 2-0 win over Brentford and they struggled to overcome Pafos in midweek, so a low-scoring Chelsea win is our prediction for this encounter.

Goals unlikely to flow in south London

Chelsea have kept clean sheets in their last two outings and we predict the Blues to hold Crystal Palace at bay in this showdown.

The Eagles have failed to score in three of their last six outings and they have bagged just ten goals in 11 home league matches this term.

Glasner’s side have a miserable record against Chelsea, failing to win in any of the last 17 meetings and it was 0-0 when these two met at the start of the season.

Palace have been shutout in three of their last four league fixtures on home soil and Chelsea are fancied to extend that sequence with a 2-0 win on Sunday.

Garnacho can grab another goal

Alejandro Garnacho bagged a brace in the recent 3-2 loss to Arsenal and Chelsea’s attacking midfielder could make his mark again this week.

The Blues rely heavily on their midfield cohort for goals, as highlighted by Moises Caicedo’s winner against Pafos on Wednesday.

Enzo Fernandez has bagged six goals from midfield this term, and it’s 13 goals from that part of the pitch for Chelsea this term.

Garnacho will look to push forward at every opportunity and another goal for the Argentinian is our prediction.