Chelsea may be on the verge of adding Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk but he won’t be able to help the team in a London derby against Crystal Palace on Sunday. With new signing Joao Felix suspended for three matches following a rash tackle in Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Fulham, Graham Potter will need to put out yet another new lineup as he hasn’t had the same players available from one match to the next due to injuries and suspensions.
The Blues will need to turn things around soon as they are slipping down the table, currently sitting in 10th, only two places ahead of their opposition, Crystal Palace. With only two wins in their last 10 matches, Chelsea need to turn things around as soon as possible and this match against Palace is a good time to start a run. Allowing six goals in their last two matches, Patrick Vieira’s side has been hot and cold this season and Kai Havetz can have a field day getting into space with how weak the midfield and wing backs have been this season.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 15 | Time: 9 a.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge — London
- TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Watch in Canada: fubo Sports Network Canada
- Odds: Chelsea -150; Draw +270; Crystal Palace +420 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace
Storylines
Chelsea: With more injured players than available ones, who will step up for Chelsea? This could be a game where Hakim Zyiech gets a start but as we saw with Potter starting Lewis Hall against Fulham, anything could happen. Marc Cucurella should come back into the XI but the wing backs haven’t been creating enough, leaving a lot of room for opportunity for the young players in the squad to make their mark.
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Crystal Palace: While Palace has a strong attack, the defense has been suspect despite Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen being strong center backs. The return of Tyrick Mitchell from his red card suspension will be a big boost for the squad but that still won’t be enough to stave off Chelsea’s attack and an excellent game from Wilfred Zaha will be needed.
Prediction
It won’t be a comprehensive victory to show that Chelsea is writing the ship but at this point, they’ll take any victory that they can take. Pick: Chelsea 2, Crystal Palace 1