PREVIEW | Chelsea vs Crystal Palace - team news, lineups, predictions

Chelsea kick off their Premier League campaign at Stamford Bridge this Sunday, welcoming Crystal Palace in the opening round of fixtures. The match gets underway at 14:00 and will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event.

The Blues return to domestic duty buoyed by recent success in Europe and on the world stage, having lifted both the Conference League and the Club World Cup. Enzo Maresca’s side will now be keen to push on from last season’s fourth-place finish and mount a stronger challenge at the top end of the table.

Palace, on the other hand, arrive with confidence after a flying start under Oliver Glasner. The Eagles went toe-to-toe with champions Liverpool in the Community Shield, holding their nerve in a penalty shoot-out to claim the first piece of silverware of the new campaign.

The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Fan Zone

Jay Crame(The Eagles Beak): A London derby between two clubs that have won silverware this year, a habit that is very infectious.

It remains to be seen if the hosts exertions in the summer will affect their start to the season, but this is compelling match up between two in form sides.

The Eagles head into the game off the back of the Community Shield victory and knowing that the next few weeks are congested with the Conference League play off added to the calendar.

Palace have looked good in pre season heading into the game with Liverpool last weekend so the start to this season is expected to be better than the last campaign.

Prediction: 1-1

Unavailable

Chelsea

• Levi Colwill - Cruciate Ligament Tear
• Benoit Badiashile - Muscle Injury

Crystal Palace

• Daichi Kamada - In doubt
• Eddie Nketiah - Injury
• Cheick Doucouré - Injury
• Chadi Riad - Injury
• Matheus França - Injury

Last starting XIs

Chelsea ( vs PSG 2025-07-13): Robert Sánchez, Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer, João Pedro, Pedro Neto

Crystal Palace ( vs Liverpool 2025-08-10): Dean Henderson, Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi, Daniel Muñoz, Daichi Kamada, Adam Wharton, Tyrick Mitchell, Ismaila Sarr, Jean Mateta, Eberechi Eze

Did you know...by playmaker stats

MANAGERS

• Enzo Maresca faced Oliver Glasner on two occasions, recording only draws.
• Oliver Glasner faced Chelsea on two occasions, recording only draws.
• Enzo Maresca faced Crystal Palace on two occasions, recording only draws.

HEAD TO HEAD

• Chelsea and Crystal Palace have faced each other 67 times, with Chelsea having the advantage: 38 wins, against 12 victories for Crystal Palace.
• At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea has an advantage in the duels against Crystal Palace: 18 wins in 31 games. Crystal Palace has four victories.
• In the English League, 46 matches have been played between the two teams, with Chelsea winning 29, 11 draws and six victories for Crystal Palace.