Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace, Premier League: Preview, team news, how to watch

Well, we’re back! Then again, were we ever really away?

The new Premier League season starts this weekend (has already started on Friday in fact), but for Chelsea, it might as well just be the continuation of last season. We’ve had practically no proper rest thanks to the Club World Cup, even with preseason preparations shortened to just two weeks. Will this relentless workload catch up to us at some point? Probably!

On the other hand, the momentum we’ve generated over the summer might be quite helpful, to get the new campaign started on the right foot. Dating back to Fulham away in mid-April, we’ve won 14 of our last 16 in all competitions (16 of 18 if you also count the two friendlies), and the only two games we lost, we finished with ten players. We’ve averaged nearly 2.5 goals during that span, conceding less than one per (11 total), and winning two trophies.

Ambitions high and vibes immaculate … at the moment.

We know all too well that in football, things can change in a heartbeat. It’s promising to be a most competitive season, with spending up all around the Premier League, but especially among the top teams. Any margin for error will be small, if nonexistent.

Can we turn talent and potential into consistency, result, and maybe even a title(-challenge)? The answer to that question starts now.

Date / Time: Sunday, August 17, 2025, 14.00 BST; 9am EDT; 6:30pm IST

Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6

Referee: Darren England (on pitch); James Bell (VAR)

Forecast: Warm and sunny, unlike my disposition

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); USA, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League (NGA); elsewhere

Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 6: New signings Dario Essugo, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato and Estevao Willian of Chelsea during the Chelsea Together in Glory at Stamford Bridge on August 6, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea team news: Despite the positive vibes, we do have some serious concerns heading into the season, mostly with regards to the depth at center back. Levi Colwill is out for (most of) the season with an ACL, Tosin Adarabioyo is out this weekend as a precaution, and neither Benoît Badiashile nor Wesley Fofana are fully fit yet following their own long-term absences. For the perpetually injured Fofana this is surely a make-or-break season for his Chelsea career. His talent is undeniable, but there’s no ability like availability, as they say.

Thankfully, Trevoh Chalobah seems to have overcome a twisted ankle from last Sunday to be declared fit. Youngsters Josh Acheampong or Jorrel Hato might be called upon to start alongside him, unless Maresca opts for a more creative solution involving someone like Reece James or Moisés Caicedo.

While the rest of the squeak is mostly injury-free, Roméo Lavia is in the same situation as Fofana while Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku are expected to be leaving and thus have not been part of the matchday squads in preseason. (And Jackson’s suspended anyway still from the red card against Newcastle at the end of last season.)

The aforementioned Hato, plus fellow new arrivals Jamie Gittens, Dário Essugo, Liam Delap, João Pedro, and of course young phenom Estêvão should be all be set for their Premier League debuts. Not all will start, but JP has been in great goalscoring form since joining at the Club World Cup, and Estêvão already showcased a bit of joga bonito in preseason.

It should be an exciting and hopefully quite memorable season (for the right reasons). Let’s [FUNNING] go!

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 17: Joel Ward and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace celebrate with FA Cup Trophy and teammates including Daichi Kamada, Eddie Nketiah, Chris Richards, Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace, after winning the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on May 17, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) Getty Images

Crystal Palace team news: Palace may have finished only 12th, but they did win the FA Cup last season, for the first time in their nearly 120-year history, and followed that up by beating Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield last weekend. Unfortunately for them, they will not be able to compete in the Europa League, with UEFA deciding to make an example of them and knocking them down to the Conference League due to their shared-ownership structure (despite Palace changing that eventually).

They have not done much business over the summer (yet), but they may not be able to keep the team together with both Marc Guéhi and Eberechi Eze subject to increasing transfer speculation for moves to Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively. In fact, they both may be held out of action this weekend as a result.

The only new arrival of note so far is left back Borna Sosa, from Ajax, while club legend Joel Ward left the team after thirteen seasons.

Manager Oliver Glasner has made Palace into a cohesive, solid, and quite formidable side, though the potential disruption with the Guéhi and Eze situations could affect that in the short-term. We certainly won’t be complaining if we don’t have to face those two!

Previously: We played out two 1-1 draws last season, with Palace coming back in the second half to earn the draw in both matches. They have not won at the Bridge since 2017, so let’s make sure that streak doesn’t get broken.

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