Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca didn’t look particularly jolly after seeing his side fall to a shock 2-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Ipswich town in their last game of 2024, while Crystal Palace secured a much-needed win over Southampton.
By Alex Roberts
Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson made sure Chelsea’s shocking Christmas form continued, leaving them winless in their last three games over the hectic festive period. So much for good will to all men.
Palace, on the other hand, weren’t gifted their win over Southampton and had to come back from 1-0 down after Tyler Dibling’s 14th minute opener to secure all three points and put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Bah humbug
Chelsea’s poor run of form over Christmas has seen them fall down to fourth and talk of a potential title charge become nought but a whisper.
Sean Dyche was their very own ghost of Christmas past, warning Maresca’s side of what was to come as they failed to beat his struggling side, drawing 0-0 in the first game of their three-game winless streak.
Then there was Marco Silva, the ghost of Christmas present. Chelsea went 1-0 up, and everything seemed right in the world for the Stamford Bridge crowd, but it soon soured, and two late goals secured Fulham’s first win at Stamford Bridge in 45 years.
Liam Delap acted as the ghost of Christmas future. The man Chelsea see as a potential new striker tore them apart, later showing them a grave that had “Chelsea’s 2024-25 title hopes” engraved upon it.
It’s not all bad for the eagles
Oliver Glasner’s lads had a rough start to the season after looking so promising at the back end of 2023-24, failing to secure a Premier League win in their first eight, including a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the reverse fixture.
They have since picked up some form, losing just two of their last 11 league games, winning four and drawing five in the others. With games against Leicester City and West Ham, clubs in similar kinds of positions as Palace, coming up in January, they have every opportunity to start 2025 with a bang.
Eberechi Eze also seems to be back to his best, scoring a belter to beat Southampton after struggling with a few little injuries in the first half of the season.
A timely Reece James return
Axel Disasi seriously struggled in the defeat to Ipswich, failing to win a single tackle and ultimately being responsible for their second goal. It’s not entirely his fault; he simply isn’t a right-back.
Reece James is back from injury, making the bench in both defeats to Fulham and Ipswich but Maresca is airing on the side of caution when it comes to giving him serious game time again.
The right-back still has the ability to be a key player for Chelsea, the game against Palace may well be his rebirth.
Trevoh Chalobah will be missed
The lanky centre-back won’t be allowed to feature against his parent club on Saturday and he will be a huge miss for Palace after scoring the equaliser in their win over Southampton.
As a matter of fact, Chalobah is their third highest Premier League goal scorer so far this season on three goals, just one behind Ismaïla Sarr and the second highest scoring defender in the competitions all together.
His presence at both ends of the pitch will be a huge miss for Palace.
Prediction
While Chelsea haven’t been fantastic, Palace’s struggles in front of goal will likely be a factor. We’re going to go with a 1-1 draw in South London.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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