After the shocking 2-5 loss to West Brom
last weekend in the Premier League, Chelsea managed to get things back on track
by beating Porto in the Champions League in midweek.
And next up, they shift their focus to the EPL top-four battle as
they intend to pick up a win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on
Saturday.
Chelsea have won their last 6 matches vs Palace in all
competitions but Palace have been really strong at home in the past few months,
keeping clean sheets in 5 of their last 7 home matches.
The win vs Porto will give the Blues a
lot of confidence but Palace have lost just one of their previous six matches,
managing to pick up points vs teams like Man United and Everton. So Chelsea
will need to be at the top of their game if they wish to get back into the
top-four.
Due to the loss vs West Brom, the Blues have slipped out of
the top-four with West Ham United now occupying that space. And if Tuchel’s men
fail to pick up a win this Saturday then teams like Spurs and Liverpool could
all over above them in the table.
Chelsea team news vs Crystal Palace:
Thiago Silva remains suspended for this
game due to the red card he picked up last weekend so Kurt Zouma has the chance
to start vs Palace.
Zouma was one of the poorest players on the pitch against
the Baggies but since Tuchel has the second leg vs Porto to worry about, the
manager could look to rest Christensen this weekend.
Jorginho and Kovacic paired up in midfield vs Porto in the
first leg but with Kante back to full fitness, Jorginho should move to the
bench at Selhurst Park.
The manager has been swapping Chilwell and Alonso in every
game since his arrival at the club so, despite the summer signing scoring in
midweek, Marcos Alonso will come back into the side.
Reece James will also be rested on
Saturday meaning Callum Hudson-Odoi will operate as the right wing-back.
Mason Mount was another scorer against Porto and will keep
his place in the starting line-up but Timo Werner should be moving to the bench
to make way for Hakim Ziyech.
Kai Havertz played as the centre-forward in midweek but this
game might be the perfect opportunity to call Olivier Giroud back into the
fold. Tammy Abraham is also back to full fitness but we doubt if Thomas Tuchel
will use him from the start.
No comments