Chelsea will look to improve on an awful end to 2024 when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in their first Premier League game of the new year on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca's men lost their final two games of the year to drop down the table and a long way off league leaders Liverpool.
Match preview
© Imago
After eight wins in a row following the November international break, Chelsea are now winless in three, including two devastating defeats to Fulham and Ipswich Town.
The Blues failed to break down Everton in their final game before Christmas, and have gone on to concede a 95th-minute winner to Fulham at Stamford Bridge, while also handing Ipswich their first win at Portman Road back in the top flight.
Manager Maresca claimed he was expecting results like this to happen eventually, and it probably will be fatal to their slim title chances, with Chelsea now down in fourth and 10 points behind Liverpool at the summit, having also played a game more.
The Ipswich performance in particular will be cause for concern, dominating possession and the amount of shots, but very rarely looking threatening, as the Tractor Boys ran out 2-0 winners.
After also failing to score at Everton, Chelsea are now in danger of going three straight league away games without a goal for the first time in almost six years, last doing so under their previous Italian manager Maurizio Sarri.
A defeat could also see them slip out of the top four, if Newcastle United are able to beat Tottenham Hotspur with a swing in the goal difference.
Being desperate for a return to form, Palace could be the ideal opponents for Chelsea, considering they have won on 12 of their 15 Premier League visits to Selhurst Park - the joint-highest win ratio any team has managed against another in the Premier League when making at least 10 trips.
A 1-1 draw between the two in September ended Chelsea's run of 14 consecutive victories in this fixture, but Palace have not avoided defeat in both games against the Blues in a season since before the Premier League era.
© Imago
Palace have not been beaten by a club more often in the Premier League than Chelsea, going down on 24 previous occasions, but their recent form does provide hope that they can change that.
After losing five and winning none of their first eight league games this season, Oliver Glasner's side have now lost just two of their last 11.
However, those two defeats both came at home in London derbies (versus Fulham and Arsenal), which does not bode well ahead of this one.
A 2-1 win over Southampton last time out was just their second win in 10 home league games this season, with too many draws restricting their movement up the table, where they currently sit 15th, still only five points clear of trouble.
After this clash and their venture in the FA Cup, Palace will face out-of-form Leicester City, West Ham United, Manchester United and Everton, as well as notoriously poor travellers Brentford in their next five, so the upcoming weeks will be pivotal in the Eagles' season.
Team News
© Imago
Palace will be able to welcome back club captain and former Chelsea youth graduate Marc Guehi, after he sat out the win over Southampton due to suspension last week.
There is unlikely to be a return for Adam Wharton just yet though, as the England international remains out with a groin issue.
However, despite Wharton's absence, the Palace team has become very settled, with Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma performing well as a partnership in midfield, and Ismaila Sarr adding plenty of threat in attack.
Maresca used the trip to Ipswich to hand starts to some of his Conference League performers such as Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and Filip Jorgensen, but after a chastening defeat, the Chelsea boss is set to return to the XI that had been featuring throughout December.
Jorgensen conceded a penalty that allowed Ipswich to take the lead, so Robert Sanchez is in line to return, along with Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto, who both also sat out the defeat at Portman Road.
Reece James was back in the squad last week but did not come off the bench, while Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined at the back.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
We say: Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea
Palace have a dreadful record against Chelsea, and they are not much better when facing fellow London clubs, but Glasner has made them difficult to beat with a much more settled side of late.
Chelsea's shortcomings are being exposed, with the goals drying up and defensive frailty becoming costly, and this will be another difficult afternoon for Maresca's side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
