Crystal Palace-Chelsea is a match valid for the ninth day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 16:00: predictions, TV, streaming.
The Premier League is back and so are the London derbies. The rich programme of the ninth day of the English Premier League – which also includes the Manchester derby between City and United – features two of them: in addition to the very popular Arsenal-Tottenham, there is the challenge between Crystal Palace and Chelsea. The spotlight will mainly be on Graham Potter, who is set to make his Premier League debut as Blues coach. The former Brighton coach, who took over from the exonerated Thomas Tuchel in the aftermath of the loss to Dinamo Zagreb, has so far only made his debut in the Champions League and did not go beyond a 1-1 draw at home with Salzburg.
The new owners of the London club have entrusted him with a wide-ranging project but for the moment they have asked him for the turnaround that with the former Borussia Dortmund and Psg at the helm was struggling to come. Chelsea, after six days of the championship, have 10 points, are seventh in the standings and, despite having to recover the match with Liverpool – postponed for security reasons after the death of the Queen – are eight points behind the leading Arsenal and risk being immediately cut out of the title fight. Potter does not yet know if he will be able to count on two starters such as goalkeeper Mendy and midfielder Kanté, both struggling with physical problems. He will almost certainly confirm the three-man defence seen in the cup against the Austrians, with Fofana replacing Thiago Silva. In midfield there will be space for Kovavic, while the weight of the attack will be on the shoulders of Aubameyang and Sterling.
Crystal Palace are also off to a poor start: The Eagles have only won one match in six and are currently fifth to last, on the edge of the red zone. The last two matches against Brentford and Newcastle ended in draws (1-1 and 0-0) and in the derby against Chelsea coach Patrick Vieira will have to do without the injured Butland, Tomkins, McArthur and Ferguson. Palace have not managed to beat the Blues since 2017, losing all of their last nine clashes with their compatriots.
The Prediction
A still convalescent Chelsea should at least manage to avoid defeat on a hostile pitch like Selhurst Park, where Vieira’s men have scored almost all their points. It is difficult to trust the Blues blindly, but it cannot be ruled out that Potter’s first joy on the London club’s bench will come at the weekend.
The likely Crystal Palace-Chelsea line-ups
- CRYSTAL PALACE (4-3-3): Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucouré, Eze; Ayew, Mateta, Zaha.
- CHELSEA (3-4-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Kovacic, Mount, Chilwell; Havertz, Aubameyang, Sterling.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1
