Chelsea have only lost twice at home this season
– Crystal Palace have failed to score in four of eight on the road
– Recommended bet: Chelsea win to zero
Chelsea will hope a return to home soil can help them to get back to winning ways when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Blues have slipped to 10th in the standings after losing 2-1 at Fulham on Thursday and they have only tasted victory once in their last nine league outings.
However, they did show signs of improvement at Craven Cottage and may have gone on to win the game, having come from a goal down to equalise early in the second half, if new signing Joao Felix had not been sent off.
Graham Potter insists they must remain “positive” and a return to Stamford Bridge will offer hope of ending a four-game winless streak across all competitions.
Crystal Palace are the visitors on Sunday as Patrick Vieira’s side, who sit two places and three points adrift of the Blues, also look to try and address some poor form.
The Eagles have lost three of their last four games in the league, most recently suffering a heavy 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham, before going out of the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton.
Team news
Denis Zakaria is the latest player to have sustained an injury for Chelsea after he was forced off in the second half against Fulham.
He joins a further 10 first-team players in being unavailable and Potter’s options are becoming extremely limited.
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Christian Pulisic and Wesley Fofana are also in the treatment room.
Atletico Madrid loanee Felix is also set to miss out as he begins a three-game ban following his dismissal at Fulham.
Jorginho is the most likely to come into the starting XI in place of Zakaria, while Marc Cucurella impressed from the bench at Craven Cottage and could get the nod too.
Palace are boosted by the return of defender Tyrick Mitchell after he completed a three-game suspension.
On the injury front, Vieira has almost a fully-fit squad available with only James McArthur and Nathan Ferguson missing out.
The stats
Chelsea might be licking their wounds after a poor run of results, but they can take comfort from their recent record against Crystal Palace — winning 11 consecutive games across all competitions.
Thursday’s loss against Fulham made it three defeats in a row in all competitions and Chelsea have not lost four on the bounce since a run of six in 1993 when Glenn Hoddle was in charge.
Palace have conceded in each of their previous 17 top-flight games against Chelsea, while there has not been a draw in the last 24 competitive meetings between the pair.
The Eagles have yet to record a win against teams currently placed in the top half, drawing three and losing five.
Patrick Vieira is looking to end Crystal Palace’s 11-game losing run against Chelsea
Patrick Vieira is looking to end Crystal Palace’s 11-game losing run against Chelsea
Prediction
Chelsea have looked far from perfect since Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel and it appears he will need time to address all the issues within the squad, while a long injury list has not helped.
But Stamford Bridge has, for the most part, been a positive setting for the Blues this campaign with only two losses on their Premier League record and they have come against the top two — Arsenal and Manchester City.
They have only kept two clean sheets on home soil but a third looks achievable against a Palace side that has struggled to convert.
Just five teams have scored fewer than Palace’s tally of 17 across the campaign and a Chelsea win to nil at 7/5 with LiveScore Bet looks the way to go.
