Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction

Chelsea ended last season with three wins from their final five matches, including a comfortable away victory at Selhurst Park that highlighted their ability to control games against mid-table sides. Their summer activity focused on plugging defensive gaps and adding younger attacking options, trimming players who struggled to consistently contribute. The result is a slightly leaner, more balanced squad built around a core that already produced 69 league goals last season.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were tough to beat, losing only two home fixtures throughout the entire campaign. Their style under Maresca encourages heavy possession and fluid attacking movement, with an emphasis on pressing opponents high up the pitch. Defensively, there is still a need for improvement in transitions, but overall, this is a side that looks ready to build on its top-four finish. For an opening game against a Palace team still adjusting to life without one of their main creative outlets, Chelsea will feel they have the structure and depth to start strong.

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Crystal Palace finished last season in a respectable mid-table position, earning 53 points and avoiding the late-season relegation conversations that often haunt clubs outside the top half. A strong late run, which included two impressive derby wins over Tottenham and Fulham, suggests Oliver Glasner’s approach of sitting compact and hitting on the counter can deliver results, but I am sure fans will not expect such a boring watch the whole season. The challenge now is maintaining that productivity without one of their top creative contributors from last season, who left for a European giant.

Defensively, Palace conceded 55 goals across the league campaign, though they recorded eight clean sheets that reflected a disciplined backline. The attacking workload falls heavily on Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta, a pairing that produced most of their scoring threat in last season’s efforts. On the road, Palace were inconsistent, often struggling to recover when conceding early. Facing a Chelsea side that tends to dominate possession at home will require patience, resilience, and clinical finishing on the counter. Palace know how to frustrate bigger teams, but doing it at Stamford Bridge has historically been an uphill battle that they hardly ever get right.

Eberechi Eze  and Jeffrey Gouweleeuw / Getty Images