Chelsea travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday evening. The Blues are coming off the back of consecutive league defeats but did win in the FA Cup days ago.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have struggled on the road in recent weeks but face a Palace side in worse shape. The Eagles can’t stop conceding goals and have been on the wrong end of thrashings.
Chelsea put Palace to the sword when the two sides met in December and will fancy a repeat.
Palace in dire straits
Roy Hodgson’s men are 16th in the table, losing two of their last three while conceding 11 goals. Palace lost 5-0 to Arsenal, 4-1 to Brighton, and shipped two goals in a win over Sheffield United.
Palace are better at home, winning two and drawing two of their last four in all competitions, but they’re vulnerable. They’ve managed only one win since the turn of the year and that was against bottom-of-the-table Sheff Utd.
The history books suggest this will be a one-sided affair too, with Chelsea dominating head-to-heads. The Blues have won their last 13 meetings with Palace, stretching all the way back to 2018.
Chelsea could move into the top-half with a win while Palace will be stuck in the bottom-half regardless.
FA Cup win will give Chelsea hope of victory
Chelsea’s league results haven’t been great, losing to Liverpool and Wolves, but the FA Cup win will give them confidence. The Blues beat Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday to progress to the fifth round, silencing their critics.
Away from home, Pochettino’s side had suffered six defeats from seven before the FA Cup clash. Chelsea played well at Villa, so they’ll believe they can get a result in South London.
This is a fixture Chelsea have historically won regardless of form, so it should go the way of the visitors.
