ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - CRYSTAL PALACE VS CHELSEA

English Premier

2026-01-25 - Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Crystal Palace v Chelsea
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 25th January 2025 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV

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Crystal Palace

A fiery post-match interview just twenty-four hours after announcing that he would be leaving as Crystal Palace manager at the end of the season got the tongues wagging on Saturday evening. For all intents and purposes, it sounded like Oliver Glasner had had enough with how things were developing for his Crystal Palace squad and he spoke about being 'abandoned' by those in upper management.

The decision to sell Marc Guehi tipped Glasner over the edge after Crystal Palace were beaten at Sunderland. This means The Eagles are 13th in the Premier League table and the poor run of form has been an extended one, which has only served to frustrate the manager further. Playing at Selhurst Park has been challenging for the players all season with Crystal Palace producing a 2-6-3 record here.

Crystal Palace have not won any of the last 10 games in all competitions and have been beaten 6 times in that run, including a massive upset in the FA Cup Third Round at Macclesfield. The side have not won any of the last 7 at Selhurst Park in all competitions, although 3 of the last 4 here have ended in draws.

There are a host of missing players and Crystal Palace are fighting to keep Jean-Philippe Mateta at the club. More positive news is that Daniel Munoz is expected to be involved this weekend and Ismaila Sarr has returned from the African Cup of Nations as a continental Champion.

Chelsea

The attendance for the Champions League game was less to do with frustration with the board or manager, but more because most Chelsea fans would have expected a much changed team to coast to victory. Surprisingly Liam Rosenior picked a stronger team than expected and even more surprising was the way Chelsea struggled to break down the Cypriot Champions in an eventual 1-0 win.

Winning was important and it just gives Chelsea some momentum having backed up the last Premier League victory and also earned another clean sheet. The manager still has to prove he is worthy of being in charge at Stamford Bridge, but the three points last weekend dragged The Blues back up into 6th place in the Premier League table with a return to the Champions League the minimum of expectations. They have a 4-4-3 away record ahead of this latest London derby and Chelsea have scored 19 goals and conceded 13 in those matches.

Chelsea have played 4 matches under the guidance of Rosenior and have won 3 of those, but this is only the second away game played with the first being at Championship Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup Third Round. Take away domestic Cup wins at lower League Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City and Chelsea have won none of the last 6 away games in Premier League or Champions League settings.

Filip Jorgensen had to come off during the week so Robert Sanchez will be restored in goal. Enzo Fernandez is playing through an illness, while Cole Palmer was not risked on Wednesday and should play some part.

Head to Head

Chelsea and Crystal Palace played out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge back in August.

The last three derby games between these two London clubs have all ended in draws, including a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park last season.

Chelsea had won 6 in a row in this part of South London before that draw in January 2025.

Prediction

There is some uncertainty and upheaval behind the scenes at both Crystal Palace and Chelsea which makes it very difficult to know how the teams are going to come out in this London derby on Sunday afternoon.

The home squad have lost another key player in January, which has concerned manager Oliver Glasner, while Jean-Philippe Mateta has made it clear that he would like to explore a move away.

With that in mind, the final few days of the January transfer window are going to be a slight distraction for players and manager and Crystal Palace have been in a prolonged slump in form.

More positive is the fact that Ismaila Sarr is back from the African Cup of Nations and Daniel Munoz is closing in on a return too.

Both are really important to what Crystal Palace are trying to achieve, but it has been a tough few weeks and that could be something Chelsea can capitalise on.

In saying that, it should be noted that Chelsea have been struggling away from home since beating Burnley in November- the sole away wins in that time have been at League One and Championship opponents, but Chelsea have produced decent performances in drawing at Newcastle United and Manchester City.

Liam Rosenior is still working hard to get the fans behind him in his short time in charge of the team and the grind it out win over Pafos will not have done much to help him.

Ultimately Chelsea did win and there is still a depth to this squad that may give them the edge over a Crystal Palace team that may need the transfer window to be closed before they can focus on having a strong end to the season.

The final twenty minutes are likely to be crucial in this one- if the game is at least level when the 70 minute mark ticks over, Chelsea's depth and energy may be enough to see them find a way to get back to winning ways at Selhurst Park.

The Pick :

Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Chelsea to Win at 2.00 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)