Premier League: Chelsea vs Crystal Palace - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

Two clubs who have enjoyed great success recently meet in Monday’s Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.  

The Blues will begin their domestic campaign weeks after becoming the first quadrennial FIFA Club World Cup champion. Palace, on the other hand, will travel to the Bridge as the reigning FA Cup and Community Shield winners. 

Betting sites in NZ have rolled out their odds and markets for this juicy London derby. Join us as we preview the match and offer our betting tips.

Chelsea

It has been a hectic summer at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea returned to the Champions League and won the Club World Cup, but their owners have shown no signs of complacency. There have been wholesale outgoings and incomings in the team over the past few weeks. 

Some of Chelsea’s new signings have already featured for the team during the Club World Cup. The likes of Jamie Gittens, Estevao, and Jorrel Hato, however, will look to make their first competitive outing for Enzo Maresca’s team.  

Team News: Maresca has a selection headache across many spots. Joao Pedro or Liam Delap will be one of the biggest dilemmas he will be facing. We, however, believe Pedro will get the nod.

Predicted Lineup: Sanchez; James, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace look to be the most exciting side to bet on football these days. The Eagles defied the odds to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final and Liverpool in the Community Shield. But the club did not reward Oliver Glasner with a handful of new summer signings, not yet at least. 

Palace did well to hold on to its core squad till now even the likes of Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi are attracting interest from Premier League powerhouses. But as things stand, both are available to face Chelsea on Monday. 

Team News: Glasner should feel tempted to stick with the same XI that faced Liverpool last weekend, but we believe Will Hughes will come in for Daichi Kamada.

Predicted Lineup: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.

• Chelsea have won their opening Premier League match 20 times. Only Manchester United (22) can beat that record.
• Crystal Palace are on a six-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
• Chelsea’s last three Premier League matches saw under 2.5 goals.

Even though the Club World Cup euphoria still lingers around Stamford Bridge, it doesn’t seem likely that Chelsea will challenge for the Premier League title this season. They are yet to address the defensive frailties of the squad, and that might cost them against a team like Palace. 

Eze and Sarr made life difficult for Liverpool defenders at Wembley and we expect them to take a stern test of the Chelsea backline as well. The Blues go into this match with Robert Sanchez on goal and Colwill out injured. 

Palace are brimming with self-belief at the moment and will take heart from last season’s results against Chelsea, when they held the Blues to draws both home and away. We fancy this one to end all square again.

Chelsea 2-2 Crystal Palace @ 19.00 (18/1)

Chelsea and Crystal Palace both have substantial firepower at their disposal. The addition of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap should give the hosts more accuracy in front of goal, but their defence will be susceptible to Palace’s attacking trio of Sarr, Eze, and Mateta. This should be an entertaining match with goals flying on both ends. Bet365 prices a two-all draw at $19. It might sound bold at first, but given the way these two sides play, a four-goal stalemate is far from impossible.