Palace v Chelsea| Pardew seeks to stop Conte's juggernaut?

-
 

It is another London derby, one that should not be feared if you are Antonio Conte and his all-conquering Chelsea side? Well, that is not the case because, in the last two trips to honour London meetings, the Blues lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the EPL and 2-1 to West Ham in the EFL Cup.

Following the narrow 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Wednesday, Alan Pardew would be looking at scalping this seemingly unstoppable Chelsea team to buoy his own, as they are in dire straits.

Without Eden Hazard, Chelsea went to Sunderland and gleaned a 1-0 victory and they should be back to full strength on Saturday for the 10km trip across the A214.

The Eagles have scored 12 goals in their last five matches but have won just once in that period and lost thrice and drawn the other. Games between these London neighbours have historically been tight affairs and there is no reason why that is not the case on Saturday at Selhurst Park.

Current Form: Palace [L-D-W-L-L]; Chelsea [W-W-W-W-W]

Head to head





Palace are hovering very close to the relegation places and that has put Pardew under the real pressure of losing his job if there is no turnaround soon but he can be buoyed by the fact that Chris Benteke has scored in four of his last six Premier League appearances against Chelsea and he also has Jason Puncheon back after suspension. “We obviously get Punch back from suspension, but it is a strain. We're comfortable at the moment but wouldn't want to lose anyone else.



Managers’ Quotes

“We've got to go at it like we did against United and hope things fall our way. It's a tough ask and no point denying it. Coming from Serie A, it's a different type of football. Conte's got to grips with the PL [quickly]. He inherited players used to it. He's been helped by his players having history in the PL, but he's done a fantastic job. They look unbeatable at the moment.” – Alan Pardew



“We have to continue to work and improve. No team in the world is unbeatable. Until the end six, seven teams can fight for the title. I think he [Eden Hazard] is fit. I need this night to decide because it is not easy to play three games in a week. We played a lot of games with Eden, but I need all my players.” - Antonio Conte



FactsIf Chelsea win this match they will have defeated Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on more occasions than any other team in the Premier League

Christian Benteke has scored in four of his last six Premier League appearances against Chelsea, including in his last two versus the Blues.

Six of the last seven teams to top the Premier League table at Christmas have gone on to win the title that season.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zlatan holds back the clock but time's up for Rooney

-
Image
  The Swedish striker shows no sign of letting up despite his age but the writing is on the wall for his Old Trafford captain who is not missed in the starting XI or squad COMMENT BY LINEARSPORTS The latest signal that Wayne Rooney serves no purpose for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United came not in a game when he played badly or appeared out of his depth but one in which he was completely absent. The United squad stepped off the coach at Old Trafford for their Boxing Day fixture against Sunderland without Rooney, providing the decisive clue that he wouldn’t be involved. He had pulled up with an injury during Christmas Day training and Mourinho is already planning for Saturday's match at home to Middlesbrough without him. "Honestly I don't think so,” he said of Rooney’s chances of recovering in time. “Let's see. It's not a big deal but in four days I have my doubts." He probably wouldn’t start anyway, not the way United are p...
Read more

James Milner: From bit part at City to big shot at Liverpool

-
Image
The 30-year-old filled in at Manchester City, but he is fundamental at Anfield. He may not play in his preferred position, but he does so from one of power Jurgen Klopp had barely mapped out his way to Melwood before he first commended James Milner’s cerebral comprehension of the game.  “A complete football player, the perfect professional, a machine” was the German’s assessment after a 1-1 draw at Tottenham last October; his first fixture as Liverpool’s manager. Right at the start of his tenure, it was apparent on the training pitches at the West Derby complex that there was very little Milner could not do, and even less that he did not understand. With Zeljko Buvac, Peter Krawietz and Pep Lijnders helping Klopp bank the smallest details from every session - supported by the performance analysis team - the decision to utilise Milner as a left-back for the season was logical rather than some elaborate experiment. “It was clear that if Millie was open fo...
Read more

Leroy Sane: Who is Manchester City's new £37m signing from Schalke?

-
Image
   Sane, who played at Euro 2016, had a host of heavyweight suitors, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid also reportedly interested in him.   But City have got their man. So, how will he fit in? Here's a rundown of all you need to know... League One, Friday 5th, 11:45am Fulham v Newcastle £10 Free Bet, No Deposit Needed Sane has been with German side Schalke since 2011 Factfile Name: Leroy Sane Age: 20 Place of birth: Essen, Germany Position: Winger Club: Manchester City Last season's stats: Eight goals, six assists for Schalke in the Bundesliga Sane in action for Schalke against Bayern Munich last season Background Son of former Sengalese footballer Souley...
Read more