Premier League: Chelsea Can Shoot Down the Flying Eagles

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

All roads lead to Stamford Bridge on Saturday for a classic London derby when title- chasing Chelsea take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace.

The Blues have designs on the Premier League crown for maybe this season or maybe next, but the first task in hand is to beat the Eagles in the opening fixture of this weekend and climb up into the top four. As of the moment, they begin in ninth place and two points behind their visitors.

Frank Lampard’s new-look Chelsea are at 1.42 to take all three points, with Palace at 6.57 and the draw available at 4.27.

And as a win would take Chelsea above the Eagles in the Premier League table, there’s plenty at stake for both sides.

Talking Points

Blues’ stars still bedding in

After an impressive first season at the helm in winning Champions League football, Lampard means business this time around, given after a big-spending summer has packed his squad with some of Europe’s finest players alongside his talented group of young stars.

The Premier League 2020 betting odds here at SBOTOP suggest this could be a year too early to back the Blues, with them out at 28.00 to overhaul both Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Sky Blues have already lost a game while Liverpool have won three from three and Jurgen Klopp’s side looked imperious against Arsenal in a 3-1 victory earlier this week.

Defeat to Liverpool and a draw with West Brom has left the Blues trailing in the league and they are already out of the Carabao Cup.

And while new recruits including Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell were always going to take some time to settle into their new home, there have been positive signs.

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Premier League

Havertz scored three in Chelsea’s 6-0 Cup destruction of Barnsley. While they crashed out of the competition last night bylosing on penalties to Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, Werner opened his account with a superb low drive fired into the corner of Hugo Lloris’ net.

And trailing West Brom by three goals at the break, the Blues showed great character to fight back and claim a draw last week.

But while the signs are good, the pressure to perform quickly is always there in England’s top flight.

Lampard has taken on a lot but if he’s the manager to take Chelsea forward, as Blues fans hope he is, we’ll see results sooner rather than later.

Keep Zaha quiet and Chelsea can thrive

During the 2019/20 season, Palace initially flirted with relegation before surviving comfortably and then finishing with a dreadful run of defeats.

This season, Roy Hodgson’s Eagles began the campaign with back-to-back victories over Southampton and Manchester United.

Star man Wilfried Zaha has three goals already, scoring the winner against the Saints with a superb volley from an Andros Townsend cross, and then helping himself to a brace against his old club Manchester United.

The Eagles beat the Red Devils 3-1 in a game swamped in controversy as Zaha scored a retaken penalty.

The spot kick was highly doubtful in the first place as the ball deflected off of an unsuspecting Victor Lindelof’s arm. Then after David de Gea saved Jordan Ayew’s weak penalty, VAR spotted that the Spaniard had encroached and Zaha slammed home the retake.

The victory over the Red Devils ranks alongside the surprise Premier League 2020 results of this campaign and was a little lucky to say the least, so arguably the Eagles could have begun with a lower haul of points.

A controversial retaken penalty by wilfried Zaha helped Crystal Palace to an impressive 3-1 win in the Premier League — Wilfried Zaha scores Crystal Palace’s second goal from the penalty spot

But with six in the bag before defeat to Everton, they are sitting pretty in sixth place.

If Chelsea can stop Zaha in his tracks, they can exploit a Palace defence which features French defender Mamadou Sakho and the inexperienced Tyrick Mitchell, who struggled against the pace and skill of Everton’s Richarlison.