Crystal Palace have already beaten Manchester City earlier this month, and the Eagles will be hoping to cause another upset when they host Chelsea at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Palace’s winning run of two games was halted by Cardiff City in midweek, but Roy Hodgson’s side will have the chance to extend their unbeaten run to four games this weekend.
Crystal Palace team news
Martin Kelly and Wayne Hennessey have returned to full training, meaning Christian Benteke remains Palace’s only absentee this weekend. However, both Kelly and Hennessey are unlikely to be risked against Chelsea as Hodgson braces himself for a hectic schedule ahead.
Predicted Crystal Palace lineup vs Chelsea
Defence
Vicente Guaita will remain in goal for the Eagles this weekend. The Spaniard kept a clean sheet during the goalless draw with Cardiff in midweek and will be keen to make it two in a row.
Minimal changes are expected in defence, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Patrick van Aanholt retaining their position as fullbacks.
The former, in particular, has raised a lot of eyebrows, notably making the third-most number of interceptions in the league this season and his intuition, as well as his overall defensive quality, will be important to deal with the mighty attack of Chelsea.
James Tomkins will pair up with Mamadou Sakho in central defence, as usual, although both of these defenders will be much busier than they were in the game against Cardiff.
Midfield
Hodgson is likely to resort to his trusted duo of Cheikhou Kouyate and the ever so reliable Luka Milivojevic in the Palace midfield.
However, Max Meyer could be sacrificed in place of a more industrious Jeffrey Schlupp. The former Leicester City star will occupy the wide midfield role along with James McArthur.
The midfield duo of Kouyate and Milivojevic, who has averaged 2.7 tackles per game this season, will be tasked with the responsibility to stop the likes of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante from dictating the tempo in the middle by using their ability to break up play with their robust approach.
Attack
Wilfred Zaha will continue to partner Andros Townsend in the two-man attacking formation for Palace this weekend.
Zaha will definitely remain the danger man for the Chelsea defence, having attempted more shots than anyone else in the team.
Townsend, on the other hand, will look to create chances in the final third. The former Spurs attacker has already provided 36 key passes this season, but his quality will be tested against a well-drilled Chelsea backline.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
