Having missed the midweek EFL cup victory over Derby County, last weekend’s Premier League win over Burnley and last week’s Europa League triumph over BATE Borisov, Chelsea will be excited to have Eden Hazard return to their lineup this weekend when they host Crystal Palace.
The Blues certainly proved that they can score and win without him, but obviously they really need their top scorer to be fit if they are going to stay in the league title race over the court of the season. His back problems have apparently subsided. “He’s certainly much better,” assistant first team coach Gianfranco Zola said.
“He is looking quite good for the weekend, so we are quite pleased as he is such an important player for us.”
Thus we included the 27-year-old in our starting lineup prediction for Sunday when the Blues host their fellow London club. The two sides have met 18 times in Premier League competition, with 12 victories for Chelsea, four wins for Palace, and two draws.
The Bank Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Burnley FC
Forwards: Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Willian
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ross Barkley
Defenders: Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Crystal Palace at Chelsea FC FYIs
Maurizio Sarri Press Conference quotes: go to this link
Kickoff/TV: Sunday, November 4, 4PM local Stamford Bridge, Sky Sports
Odds via bwin: Crystal Palace 21/2, Draw 5/1, Chelsea FC 13/50
Injury report for both teams: go to this link
Prediction: Chelsea FC 3, Crystal Palace 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.