Chelsea host Crystal Palace in a London derby on Sunday. Enzo Maresca is aiming for his first home Premier League victory as Chelsea manager and looking to build on an impressive win at Wolves.
After defeat to Manchester City in their season-opener, Chelsea bounced back emphatically to thrash Wolves last weekend. After a seesawing first half saw four goals evenly shared, the West Londoners ran riot after the break.
Noni Madueke scored a 14-minute hat-trick on his first league appearance of the campaign, a performance that has seen the 22-year-old earn a maiden England call up this week. As ever, Cole Palmer was at the centre of a fine Blues’ performance, scoring one and creating three more at Molineux.
Chelsea returned to action in the Europa Conference League in midweek and lost 2-1 to Swiss side Servette. However, a first-leg win at Stamford Bridge (2-0) ensured progress to the competition’s league phase.
The Blues were busy on transfer deadline day with a number of outgoings. Trevoh Chalobah moved to this weekend’s opponents on a season-long loan deal but is ineligible to feature against his parent club on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling and Armando Broja also exited on loan to Premier League rivals, while Chelsea brought in Jadon Sancho from Manchester United on loan. Maresca will hope he is the man to revive the 24-year-old’s fortunes after an unhappy spell at Old Trafford.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace – Predicted Lineup and team news
Chelsea team news
Chelsea will again be without Reece James and Romeo Lavia for Sunday’s fixture with Crystal Palace. James is yet to feature this season due to a combination of suspension and a hamstring injury and will return after the international break. Lavia, who endured a nightmare debut campaign that saw him feature for just 32 minutes in the Premier League, also has a hamstring problem and Chelsea will take a cautious approach with the Belgian.
Joao Felix will return to the squad after being ineligible for the European tie with Sevette and is pushing for a start after scoring as a substitute at Wolves last weekend. Jadon Sancho, however, will not feature having not been registered in time to debut.
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Elsewhere, Mykhailo Mudryk is expected to be dropped after Maresca admitted he was not happy with the winger’s performance at Wolves. The Ukraine international was withdrawn at half-time after an ineffective performance, as he continues to struggle in English football. Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto should return after being rested in midweek.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace predicted lineup
Predicted Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer; Madueke, Jackson, Neto.
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace TV channel and kick-off time
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is 13:30pm BST on Sunday 1st September. The fixture will not be televised live to a UK audience.
