These two sides find themselves in very different situations this season. Crystal Palace has had the worst run of any side in the Premier League in 2016. Chelsea is top of the league, have won their last 10 games and are well on course for the title this season.
I’ll be honest, that’s not something I saw happening before the season kicked off, I thought Conte would run foul of the Chelsea dressing room that has chewed up and spat out a few high profile names in the past.
That’s not happened and now that the club has made such a good start it’s becoming less likely that will happen as you don’t find many players complaining in a winning side.
Crystal Palace players haven’t felt that winning feeling too often in 2015. They did pick up a recent win against Southampton but that was only their fourth win of the season and they haven’t been able to add to that tally since. They’ve been involved in some great games, though. The Swansea match was a real corker and last weekend’s game against Hull almost matched it for drama and excitement.
Neither side has had a lot of trouble scoring goals this season. Crystal Palace has scored 27 times and Chelsea has hit the back of the net on 33 occasions in the league. Palace’s problem has been at the other end of the pitch and they’ve seen their keeper face twice as many shots as Thibault Courtois in the Chelsea net. Those shots have led, inevitably, to goals and Palace have conceded almost 2 goals a match overall.
Chelsea may have been missing their captain John Terry for much of the season but it hasn’t harmed their defensive statistics, they’ve conceded less than a goal a game and with their attack in good form they’ve been able to win games without conceding on 8 occasions.
I think they can make it 9 this weekend and with Palace posing a threat there are some reasonable odds on offer. You can bet on Both Teams To Score (No) at 2.05 with BetVictor and that’s my personal bet for this game. Alternatively, you could look at the Asian Handicap market and go for the Chelsea -1.5 which is available at a very tempting 2.58 with Pinnacle.
Don’t be too worried if you do back Chelsea and they haven’t finished Chelsea off as the game approaches its end. Crystal Palace has a nasty habit of conceding goals in the last few minutes of a game, it happened again in their last match against Manchester United.
With their run in 2016, Alan Pardew needs some good results otherwise his leadership will seriously come into question. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be playing the league leaders right now and unless he can turn things around he’ll be looking for a new job in the New Year.
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