Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
Premier League 2018/19
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Sunday, October 4
Kick-off: 4pm BST
Chelsea return to Premier League action this afternoon with a London derby as Crystal Palace head to Stamford Bridge.
Maurizio Sarri's Blues headed into gameweek 11 of the season two points off Manchester City in top spot, with Ross Barkley hitting top form in a 4-0 cruise at Burnley.
A weakened Chelsea side just about saw off Frank Lampard's Derby County in a pulsating midweek EFL Cup tie, and Roy Hodgson's Palace will be keen to put Sarri's defence to the test after securing a morale-boosting 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend.
Scroll down for Standard Sport’s comprehensive preview...
Team news
Eden Hazard should be fit to play some part in Chelsea's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Belgium forward has been struggling with a back injury, but took part in full Chelsea training for the first time in two weeks on Thursday.
Blues boss Maurizio Sarri has yet to decide whether the 27-year-old will be ready to feature from the start.
Provisional squad: Kepa, Caballero, Rudiger, Alonso, Fabregas, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Hazard, Pedro, Moses, Kovacic, Giroud, Zappacosta, Willian, Cahill, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Morata, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Bulka.
Crystal Palace again have James McArthur, Wilfried Zaha and Cheikhou Kouyate available following knocks.
Their availability for Sunday's fixture at Chelsea comes with Connor Wickham having been ruled out with a thigh strain, the same injury that means Joel Ward also misses out.
Wickham's absence means they again have few options up front, with Christian Benteke continuing his recovery from knee surgery.
Team from: Hennessey, Guaita, Speroni, Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, Kelly, Van Aanholt, Souare, Riedewald, Townsend, Kouyate, McArthur, Meyer, Milivojevic, Puncheon, Schlupp, Ayew, Kaikai, Sorloth, Zaha.
TV, online and live stream coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £7.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Tickets
For Chelsea ticket info, click here for the club's official website.
Prediction
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
- Chelsea to win 3-0: 15/2
- Ross Barkley to score: 15/8
- Wilfried Zaha to score: 7/2
- 2-2 draw: 16/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
Head to head
The teams have met 18 times in the Premier League, with 12 wins for Chelsea, four for Palace, and two draws.
The last time the two sides met at the Bridge, Chelsea won 2-1 - but Palace also won by the same scoreline at Selhurst Park as well.
