Chelsea vs Crystal Palace preview: Tickets, team news, line ups and odds

Champions: Chelsea clinched the title last season after beating Crystal Palace
Clive Mason/Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj28 August 2015

Chelsea secured their first victory of the new season when they narrowly beat West Brom 3-2 last weekend although the win came at a price as captain John Terry was sent off during the entertaining match at the Hawthorns.

Jose Mourinho's men will now be looking to get their second successive victory of the 2015/16 campaign under their belts - and their first on home soil - but they will need to overcome an in-form Crystal Palace side to do that on Saturday.

Alan Pardew's team have won two of their three Premier League games this term - three in four matches in all competitions - and will, therefore, arrive at Stamford Bridge in a confident mood.

But despite their form this season, Chelsea beat Palace 1-0 when the two teams met in the corresponding fixture last season - a result that secured the championship for the Blues.

So could the Eagles cause an upset against Chelsea on Saturday? Here is everything you need to know about the Blues' game against Palace at Stamford Bridge.

Date, time and venue

Chelsea host Palace on Saturday 29 August at Stamford Bridge, with the game kicking off at 3pm.

Tickets

Chelsea fans wanting to go to the game may be in luck with the club re-selling returned tickets to members only via their website on Thursday 27 August at 7am.

Supporters can click on this link to purchase tickets.

Palace fans, meanwhile, will no longer be able to get their hands on tickets as they have sold out.

Where to watch

If fans can't attend the game, they can catch highlights of it on BBC One's Match of the Day on Saturday from 10.25pm onwards.

West Brom vs Chelsea - player ratings

1/12

Form guide

Mourinho's men come into the game against Palace having played out a tense - but entertaining - end-to-end match with West Brom last Sunday, managing to secure all three points in a 3-2 away victory thanks to new signing Pedro Rodriguez.

The winger, who arrived from Barcelona last week, scored one goal and set up Diego Costa for Chelsea's second in the game before Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first Premier League goal.

However, the Blues conceded twice afer James Morrison bagged a brace - but not before missing a penalty - while Terry saw red for his second-half foul on Salomon Rondon.

Mourinho will certainly be concerned that his side have not kept a clean sheet since the club's 1-0 win over Sydney FC at the end of last season and will be hoping Chelsea can tighten up their defence against Palace.

The Eagles, though, have scored six goals in their three league games so far and put another four past Shrewsbury Town in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night and will therefore provide a tough test for the champions.

The club opened up their season with a 3-1 victory over Norwich before narrowly losing 2-1 at home to Arsenal but then got back to winning ways when they defeated Aston Villa 2-1 last weekend.

Dismissal: John Terry received a straight red card against West Brom
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Team news

Chelsea will be missing club captain Terry for the London derby against Palace after he was sent off in the win over West Brom.

His absence could, therefore, see Mourinho pair up Gary Cahill with Kurt Zouma in central defence while opting to give another start to Pedro on the right wing after his impressive display at the Hawthorns.

Pardew, meanwhile, has been boosted by the return of winger Yannick Bolasie after he told the Palace manager he is ready to return to action following the death of his father.

Bolasie missed the club's win over Villa after travelling to DR Congo, but Pardew confirmed on Thursday the player had returned and was in contention to feature against Chelsea.

"He has lost his father and of course that affects any human being and any family, and he's dealing with his family," Pardew said. "He'll be involved on Saturday because he wants to be involved. Because his father went to every game. I think that's good for us, it'll be good for him and his family.

"The player's welfare is in good shape, he's in a good frame of mind. We're very pleased that he's dealing with it so well."

However, Pardew will be missing skipper Mile Jedinak after he suffered a hamstring injury in the win over Shrewsbury in midweek but will welcome back striker Connor Wickham after the former Sunderland forward missed out last week with a rib problem.

Despite goalkeeper Julian Speroni returning to full fitness, Pardew is expected to stick with Alex McCarthy in goal at Stamford Bridge.

Back in the team: Yannick Bolasie is expected to play against Chelsea
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Chelsea possible starting XI: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.

Crystal Palace possible starting XI: McCarthy, Ward, Delaney, Dann, Souare, McArthur, Cabaye, Puncheon, Sako, Bolasie, Murray.

Odds (William Hill)

Chelsea to win: 2/1

Crystal Palace to win: 11/1

Draw: 4/1

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