When Chelsea FC travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday, it’ll be a London derby that no longer has any Premier League title implications. Chelsea are now 10 points behind Liverpool, having played one more game than the league leaders.
They are having a nice season, to be sure, but from here on out, it’s all about the top four.
Chelsea FC at Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Sat. Jan. 4, 2pm, Selhurst Park, London, UK
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea FC win 50% Draw 25% Crystal Palace 25%
PL Standing, Form Guide: Chelsea FC 4th, 25 pts, WWDLL Crystal Palace 15th, 20 pts, DWLDW
Blues Team News
Romeo Lavia (thigh), Carney Chukwuemeka (viral infection) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (knock) could all be passed fit to come back into the side here.
Of course, in the case of those last two, it’s highly unlikely they would be selected for a league fixture though. Otherwise, the song remains the same when it comes to the Chelsea fitness situation.
Starting XI Prediction at Crystal Palace
Robert Sanchez; Malo Gusto, Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho; Nicolas Jackson
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. 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.