Chelsea FC open the 2025-26 Premier League season with a home London derby against Crystal Palace. This comes off the heels of a very memorable summer. The Blues won the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but it came with the strangest trophy lift ceremony of all time.
Love what the club did with their photo from that episode though.
Season Opener FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday August 17, 2pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Chelsea Preview Material: Team News Starting Lineup Prediction
Google’s Result Probability: Chelsea FC 60% Draw 22% Crystal Palace 18%
Also, their Club World Cup trophy is a replica of the real one, unfortunately.
Still, silverware is silverware, and you can’t take that accomplishment away from them. Speaking of matches that really count, the new season is here, and it begins with a London derby against a club that just earned a trophy of their own.
And they did so just three months after earning their first trophy in their entire club history!
So without any further ado, let’s get this first team prediction party started.
Chelsea FC Starting Lineup Prediction vs Crystal Palace
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Neto, Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens; Joao Pedro
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter