Chelsea’s midweek victory against Porto will hopefully have expunged the ghosts of what was a disastrous 5-2 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion last Saturday.
The Blues’ progression to the Champions League is now all almost guaranteed following that win which, along with the prospect of an FA Cup Semi-Final to look forward to is fantastic for the club.
But the emphasis will now be on ensuring Champions League football next season so a win against the South London side on Saturday is crucial.
Thomas Tuchel will take his side the relatively short distance to South London and Selhurst Park where they will meet the former England manager Roy Hodgson’s charges Crystal Palace.
Chelsea, having been beaten in the last league outing, will be looking to ensure that there are no further slip-ups in their domestic form in order that they maintain their challenge for a top-four final placing.
The Eagles currently lie in 12th place in the Premier League table with 38 points and may well feature former Chelsea defender and winner of everything Gary Cahill.
However, their on-loan Blues’ striker Michy Batshuayi who scored their last-minute equaliser at Goodison Park last week in the 1-1 draw against Everton will not be available.
In their meeting at Stamford Bridge in October, Ben Chilwell, Kurt Zouma and Jorginho with two penalties were the scorers as Chelsea romped home 4-0.
In the corresponding fixture last season, the game ended in a 3-2 win for The Blues with Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham scoring the goals for Frank Lampard’s side.
Following the win against Porto, I’m placing a bet on Mason Mount to score another for Chelsea at anytime during the game, the price being 3.40 with our friends at FansBet.
About the Author
Londoner David Johnstone is a home, away and European away Chelsea supporter and has missed just six matches since 2001 (although he’s quick to state there are plenty of other supporters with better attendance records than him).
He has been involved with the fanzine scene at Chelsea since around 1991 and started the ‘cfcuk’ fanzine in 1999 which was, until Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003, named ‘Matthew Harding’s Blue And White Army’.
David was also responsible for forming both the Chelsea Supporters’ Group and the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust which are the main two bodies that represent the followers of Chelsea FC and take their concerns to those running the club.
A founder of the highly regarded Chelsea FanCast weekly podcast (but is no longer involved) and responsible for the crowd surfing banners and supporter displays that are seen in the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge on matchday.
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