Palace v Chelsea

Selhurst Park, Saturday 3.00pm

Story so far

Crystal Palace welcome Chelsea this weekend to what is sure to be a noisy Selhurst Park and will be hoping the crowd can act as a twelfth man as they did last year when Palace beat Chelsea 1-0.

Chelsea are now the only unbeaten Premier League side remaining after beating Arsenal, the only other team that were yet to fall to defeat, before the international break. Chelsea are 20/1 with 888sport to go the season undefeated but face a tough task this weekend at Palace.

The Eagles’ stand out star this season has been midfielder Mile Jedinak. The Australia captain has made the most tackles in the division with 35 and according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance also ranks first in the Premier League for interceptions, having cut out opposition passes 26 times. The central midfielder is key to the Palace side remaining resolute on Saturday and he will be hoping to keep up his early season form and contain the attacking talent Chelsea possess in midfield.

One of the players to benefit from Jedinak’s defensive shield is centre back Damien Delaney. Delaney has performed well in defence so far this season, and has made 61 clearances according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. This ranks him among the top ten in the Premier League for clearances, and it would be no surprise to see Delaney climb further up the rankings this weekend.

Another player on form is Fraizer Campbell, having scored two goals in his last three games. The pacey forward could put the Chelsea defence to the test having run the eighth fastest speed in the entire Premier League. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Campbell has been clocked running at 35.3km/h and it is certainly something that the likes of Terry and Cahill need to watch out for.

Campbell is 11/1 with 888sport to score first against Chelsea.

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has made the second greatest number of passes in the Premier League with 511, behind only Yaya Toure. The Spaniard has reaped the rewards, laying on seven assists for his teammates. 333 of his passes were in the opposition half, which again is only beaten by Yaya Toure, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Fabregas’ midfield partner Nemanja Matic has played every minute so far this season, and has covered a lot of ground in the process. The Serbian has run the fourth furthest distance out of anyone in the Premier League, having covered a total of 82.8km so far this season, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Diego Costa has got a remarkable 84.2% of his shots on target this season, and that has been translated in to nine goals from his seven appearances so far. After getting through the international break unscathed, Costa will be eager to continue his goalscoring form, and if he plays to his full ability, he may well prove too hot to handle for the Palace defence. Costa is 3/1 to score at least two goals this weekend with 888sport.

Team news

Chelsea

Diego Costa is among a number of injury concerns for the Blues.

Costa, who has been troubled by a hamstring problem in recent weeks has an undisclosed problem, while Ramires (groin) and Didier Drogba (ankle) are also doubtful.

Andre Schurrle (illness) and John Obi Mikel (undisclosed) are also to be assessed prior to the match.

Palace

Defender Scott Dann has been ruled out of the match with a knee injury, but is expected to return against West Brom a week later.

Provisional Squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Mariappa, Kelly, Fryers, Ward, Delaney, Hangeland, Jedinak, McArthur, Bannan, Ledley, Williams, Bolasie, Thomas, Puncheon, Gayle, Campbell, Johnson, Doyle, Chamakh, Zaha.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"I don't think you can stop Diego Costa,

"And you can talk about Costa but there is also Eden Hazard, Oscar - you name it, they are all top-class players.

"There's Cesc Fabregas and the unsung heroes. But we worry about our players not theirs. If you think about their players too much, you wouldn't sleep."

"This is the type of league where there's always a chance. We are 7/1 apparently. But there is always an opportunity,"

"We know we are going to be under the cosh, but every team that plays against Chelsea in the bottom half of the table is under the cosh.

"It is can we be disciplined enough? Can we create enough on the day?

"You just have to concentrate on trying to get your own players up for the game and not show too many weaknesses.

"That is what we have been trying to do this week and hopefully that comes off. Look at Stoke - they beat Man City away.

"I don't think there is a club we can't beat in the Premier League and that's the same for every team in the Premier League. Results are possible everywhere."

Mile Jedinak

"We've got a big task against Chelsea. I think all the players are looking forward to it as there's no better game to come back to after some time away.

"We're facing such a big team at the top of the table and we know we're going to be up against it, so we're under no illusions but we'll give it our all, particularly in front of our own fans and we know what they're going to be like.

"We as players have to deliver on the pitch but it would be great if the atmosphere is ramped up right from the kick-off and I have no doubt that that's going to happen. Our fans never seem to disappoint, in fact they always seem to get better on the decibel side of things so I think if we get off to a positive start then I'm sure that everyone will get behind us."

Jose Mourinho

"I feel obviously very flattered with his [Neil Warnock] comment [comparing him to Brian Clough], but I think there is no comparison because Clough is a legend in English football.

"What he did, especially with Nottingham Forest, stays forever.

"If Neil makes those comments it makes me proud, but I think with the legacy of Mr. Clough, there is no comparison."

Refering to Warnock: "I don’t like to compare people. What I can say is that he's a great motivator, and you can feel that,"

"The way he feels the game, the way he communicates, the ways he interacts with players and with the game.

"If he does that during 90 minutes, during the training sessions and the whole week, he brings his players to their best. He's a good opponent."

Refering to last's season 1-0 defeat to Palace: "My lesson, in that specific game, was not a lesson," he said. "It was one of these games I deserved to lose.

"When I deserve to lose, I know why I lose. That doesn’t give me a lesson. I accept it in a normal way.

"It's easy for me to analyse this kind of match. Last season we lost there because they were better than us in every aspect of the game. Better than us."

“I think, in their style, Crystal Palace are better than us. I think we have to try to play our game and not their game, because in their game they are better than us."

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Chelsea - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
1st	7	6	1	0	19

Full league table

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Chelsea - current form

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
7	6	1	0	21	7

Full form table

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Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
29/03/2014	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 0	Chelsea
14/12/2013	League	Chelsea	2 - 1	Crystal Palace
19/03/2005	League	Chelsea	4 - 1	Crystal Palace
24/08/2004	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 2	Chelsea
11/03/1998	League	Chelsea	6 - 2	Crystal Palace

All time results

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Last meeting

Palace 1-0 Chelsea

Saturday March 29 2014

Palace: Speroni, Mariappa, Dann, Delaney, Ward, Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Puncheon (Parr 90), Ledley, Bolasie (O’Keefe, 70), Jerome (Murray 88).

Not used: Hennessey, McCarthy, Ince, Bannan.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Luiz (Oscar 45), Matic, Lampard (Salah 57), Schurrle (Ba 70), Torres, Hazard.

Not used: Hilario, Kalas, Mikel, Willian.

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