Game Week 20 Predictions: Chelsea could struggle again at Palace

Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea: Selhurst Park hosts a New Year clash as Palace aims to climb the table and Chelsea seeks redemption after a winless run.

Crystal Palace will take another draw against the Blues but only a win can suffice for the Blues if they have any interest in the title race. (Photo credit: Opta)

 Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea.
Selhurst Park
4 pm

Selhurst Park will host the Blues on Saturday for the first game of the year for Crystal Palace at home, and all the fans would be hoping for is a big result to celebrate the dawn of a new year.

Palace understands that the Blues didn’t end the year on a high despite having a fantastic run that saw them in second for a few weeks, but a run of three games without a win sees the Blues fall off to fourth on the log, ten points off Liverpool.

Crystal Palace has endured an indifferent start to the season, but they picked themselves up and are now five points clear of the drop zone. Their New Year's resolution will be to steer clear of the relegation zone as far as possible while looking up to a potential top ten finish.

You look at the Eagles and understand that the sale of Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen didn’t do them lots of favours, but they’re beginning to find their rhythm under Oliver Glasner again, and you can only think of going upward and forward from here.

What happened to Chelsea in their last three games? It started with the goalless draw at Everton and then the home loss to Fulham, which must hurt badly as the Blues led until the final few minutes before Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz took the game from them and then the shock loss at Ipswich.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca announced in his presser on Friday that the club will be without Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana for a long time, with the latter potentially ruled out for the rest of the season. They’re looking to do some business in the January window to cushion that effect.

Palace will set up compactly to win second balls and try to launch long balls into the Chelsea area with Jean Phillippe Mateta the target. The availability of Ebere Eze, who scored in their 2-1 win over Southampton at the end of the year, and Ismaila Sarr could be tough for the Blues to deal with.

There are loads of attacking players at the disposal of Maresca, and his midfield engine is assured in Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandes, but how does he plan to cope with the defensive absentees? Given that Axel Disasi is prone to errors and Levi Colwill has limited capabilities, how will Chelsea manage their defence?

Verdict: Both teams to score