Premier League: Poch’s Blues can Shoot Down the Eagles

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea welcome Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace for a festive West End bash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 27^th.

The Premier League calendar is packed at this time of the year and the games are coming thick and fast and this London Derby marks the half way point in the 2023/24 campaign. Neither team will remember the first 18 games with too much pride; both Chelsea and Palace have had their moments but not with any consistency and they come into this game in tenth and 15^th places.

Palace will head to the Bridge on the back of a 1-1 draw in the M23 Derby against Brighton and Hove Albion while Chelsea lost 2-1 away to Wolves in a game which they had plenty of chances to win; but that’s the story of their season.

The Blues have the deeper squad, home advantage and the return of a special player so I’d expect them to see off the Eagles on Wednesday. 

Talking Points

Chelsea must banish the Business End Blues

There is no doubting the quality in Chelsea’s squad, particularly now that Christopher Nkunku is fit, and the potential of the players to thrive under Pochettino. But the Premier League is a results business and the results just haven’t been good enough to justify the £1bn spent over the past year or so. For instance, the Blues haven’t seen a return on their heavy investment in Moises Caicedo and while that has put more pressure on Conor Gallagher in midfield, Pochettino will demand more from his team in defence and attack.   

Successful teams win the big moments in either penalty area and, against Wolves, the Blues fluffed their lines. In defence they were caught playing out too easily and when Wolves scored from a corner Mario Lemina was totally unmarked, as was Toti Gomes moments earlier, but he headed straight at Djordje Petrovic.  In attack top scorer Nicolas Jackson was hesitant when he had clear cut chances and Raheem Sterling missed a one on one when a square pass would have teed up a tap-in for Cole Palmer.   

Summer signing Palmer has made plenty of Premier League 2023 highlights with six goals and three assists and now that Nkunku, who scored Chelsea’s goal at Molineux, is back in the frame the Blues should start to score more freely.    

Are Palace in danger?  

The Eagles are sitting in 15^th place in the Premier League table, and in relative comfort with a six points cushion from the bottom three. But without a win in six they are sliding in the wrong direction and, as the bottom three have all begun to pick up points, things may start to become uncomfortable soon.

Hodgson’s men came close to grabbing all three points when they hosted the Seagulls last week after Jordan Ayew headed in a Michael Olise cross to give them a lead, which they held onto until Danny Welbeck headed a late equaliser. The Palace boss has used Jean-Phillipe Mateta as an advanced midfielder and he has produced some strong performances, scoring to halve the deficit when the Eagles drew 2-2 with Manchester City recently, before Olise calmly fired home the injury time penalty. And with the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp in support this is a team with plenty of creative ability. But the Premier League is a tough gig and, with matches against league leaders Arsenal and the in-form Everton coming into view, points will not be easy to come by. The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds reckon the Eagles will finish 16^th, but if they don’t pick up a win over the next few weeks the nerves will begin to grow in South London.

History

Chelsea have totally bossed this relationship, winning 23 of the last 28 encounters with Palace, losing four and drawing just once. 

In terms of recent form neither have been picking up the points their managers would hope for. The Eagles have drawn three and lost three of the last six games while Chelsea won three and lost three. But the Blues, who have lost four on the spin away from home are very strong at the Bridge.      

Betting Tip

At 1.51 to win the hosts are hot favourites to win this derby, while Palace can be backed at SBOTOP odds of 5.03 to win or 3.65 to draw. Both teams have players who can hurt oppositions and both have shown frailty in defence at times. Chelsea will be on the front foot but the Eagles are dangerous on the break and I can see both teams scoring at least once in this London Christmas knees up.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.