Chelsea begin their new season against Crystal Palace this weekend.
The Blues host Palace on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, which is the first of four consecutive London derbies to kickstart the campaign.
Chelsea’s predicted XI against Palace includes a couple of new signings, but it will be intriguing to see who head coach Enzo Maresca selects.
After winning the Club World Cup and Conference League last term, Chelsea should be feeling pretty confident. However, Oliver Glasner’s Palace side are also riding the wave of winning both the FA Cup and Community Shield.
Darren England, who will referee Chelsea against Palace, has only previously officiated the Blues on four occasions.
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Paul Merson predicts Chelsea and Crystal Palace
In his Premier League predictions for the opening weekend, Paul Merson has tipped Chelsea to be held to a 1-1 draw against Palace.
Merson told Sportskeeda: “Palace were incredible when they came from 2-0 down to win the Community Shield against Liverpool on penalties. I think this is a hard game for Chelsea and purely as a fan, I’m wishing they win 2-1 In reality, this could be a draw, but I genuinely hope I’m wrong!
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“Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace.”
Last season, Chelsea and Palace recorded 1-1 draws in both league fixtures. However, the Blues haven’t lost against their rivals in the previous 16 games across all competitions.
The individual battles between Chelsea and Palace will include the likes of Cole Palmer versus Adam Wharton, which could be a key clash to decide the result. Palmer scored six goals in his opening six league appearances last season, so another quick start would be fantastic for Maresca’s side.
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Crystal Palace were slow starters last season
After eight Premier League matches last season, Palace had zero wins, three draws and five defeats. In fact, they had just one win in their opening 13 top-flight matches.
Eventually, Palace still ended up with 53 points and a 12th-placed finish in the league.