Palace’s fourth game of the 2020/21 league season precedes a week-long international break, offering them a chance to end a strong start in fine fashion.
Their task may seem daunting, but Roy Hodgson’s men cannot be underestimated - with their United triumph highlighting this, and their recent loss to third-place Everton coming in harsh circumstances.
If any time is a good time to take on the Blues - who finished fourth last season - it seems to be now. Frank Lampard’s charges have secured a win, draw and a loss from their opening league clashes - beating Barnsley and losing on penalties to Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup.
Furthermore, Chelsea have conceded at least three goals in four of their last 10 Premier League games, as many times as they had in their previous 56 matches in the competition.
The Eagles have scored four in their last four league games, with Wilfried Zaha notching two of these. Against Chelsea, Zaha has been involved in six goals from his 12 league games against (three goals, three assists) – against no side has he contributed to more goals in the competition (also six v Leicester City).
Team news
Palace will be without on-loan Michy Batshuayi, who is ineligible to face his parent club.
Scott Dann and Jeffrey Schlupp were absent for the recent Everton clash, but Roy Hodgson confirmed other sidelined players are beginning to make their return. Encouragingly, Christian Benteke returned to the first-team squad to face the Toffees. He featured as an 82-minute substitute.
Chelsea appear to be without Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Billy Gilmour - each of which is reportedly out for the next few weeks.
Did you know?
None of the last 18 Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Palace have finished level, with the Blues winning 14 to Palace’s four. Only Newcastle United v Tottenham (21 between 1999-2010) and Chelsea v Sunderland (19 between 2002-2014) have seen longer runs without a draw in the competition.
Tactical overview
Chelsea have enjoyed an active transfer period, bringing several big names over to SW6. These include Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Werner, Silva and Havertz have each been competing for the Blues, who have netted six from their last three games in a flexible, relatively narrow formation.
Perhaps most crucially, Havertz has been involved in four goals (three goals, one assist) from four games.
How to follow
On TV
Chelsea v Palace will be shown live in the UK via BT Sport.
Palace Audio
Palace supporters all over the world can listen to live audio commentary of every Palace fixture in the 2020/21 season for just £1.49 per game on the official club app, mobile internet or on desktop.
Fans can buy a 24-Hour Pass (for a single matchday) for £1.49 by clicking here.
Find out more about Palace Audio here!
Social media
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye catching photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official app
The official Palace app’s match centre is the place to be for everything you need during the Chelsea clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as all an instant match report and post-match reaction from Palace TV, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
Download our app for free here!
International fans
For fans following from abroad, have a look at our Worldwide TV Listings here.
READ NEXT: Deadline Day 2020: All you need to know - including date, time and additional window
