Chelsea vs Crystal Palace prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2025-08-16 13:00.
[p]FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) champions Chelsea open their 2025/26 Premier League campaign with a London derby against FA Cup holders Crystal Palace, who finished 16 points behind the Blues last season. [/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]The first game of a new season brings with it hopes and dreams of a first Premier League title since 2016/17 for Chelsea, although there is a lingering fear that they may suffer a hangover from a jam-packed summer schedule which saw them come up trumps during the CWC in the USA. That competition meant that Chelsea’s 2024/25 ended just as others began their pre-season preparations, and with Enzo Maresca’s Blues fighting on four fronts after finishing fourth and winning last season’s UEFA Conference League, opportunities to rest have been scarce.[/p]
[p]After their sluggish start to the 2024/25 season that saw Palace win just one of their opening 13 league games, hopes are much higher this time around after Oliver Glasner oversaw the Eagles’ first trophy triumph in 119 years by concluding the campaign with an 1-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester City. Off-field issues saw the Eagles denied a Europa League place, but that didn’t stop them from overcoming Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield, which was the perfect warm up as Palace bid to improve upon a run of three defeats from their last four season-opening Premier League games (W1).[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Chelsea haven’t lost to Palace since 2017 (W14, D2) with both H2Hs last season ending in 1-1 draws. Those 14 victories have contributed to the Blues’ league-high 130 wins in London derbies (D69, L55), while Palace’s overall win rate in top-flight London derbies stands at a comparably modest 19% (W25, D35, L72). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Chelsea were the third-most reliable side as pre-match home favourites in last season’s Premier League (W12, D4, L1 – 71% win rate).  [/p]
[p]Chelsea’s last four home Premier League London derbies were decided by a single-goal margin (W3, L1). [/p]
[p]Palace found the net in 13 of their last 15 Premier League away games (W7, D6, L2). Â [/p]
[p]Palace scored exactly twice in each of their last four Premier League away London derbies (W3, D1). [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Cole Palmer ended 2024/25 as Chelsea’s top league scorer (G15), which included a first-half opener against Palace – six of his last seven Chelsea goals arrived in the opening 30 minutes. Eberechi Eze scored the sole goal in Palace’s historic FA Cup victory to conclude 2024/25 and the talismanic midfielder also recorded three of his side’s last four goals in away London derbies. [/p]
[p]Both sides remain without any major absences ahead of this fixture. [/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Chelsea and Palace have what it takes to make their mark in this fixture, and given that five of the last six editions of this matchup saw goals at both ends, we’re anticipating both teams to score. [/p]
[p][i]Author: Matthew Billon[/i][/p]