Chelsea will be looking to put the Manchester City defeat behind them when they visit Selhurst Park to take on an abject Crystal Palace outfit. The Eagles are at bottom of the Premier League table with zero points and as many goals after the first seven games of the season.

Former manager, Frank de Boer was shown the door after just four games and former England head coach Roy Hodgson was appointed to take over the reins. However, the Englishman has also failed to turn the fortunes around for Palace as he has guided them to three straight defeats.

Preview and team news

Chelsea will be without two of their star players this weekend. According to the club's official website, tireless midfielder N'Golo Kante and dynamic forward Alvaro Morata will miss this game through injury woes. Morata has been the club's leading goal scorer this season, so it could be difficult for the Blues to find the back of the net with Palace set to maintain a structured shape and a flat back four.

In midfield, Kante's absence could cost Chelsea dearly. The Frenchman won the PFA Player of the Year award last season and has improved considerably since moving to Stamford Bridge last summer. He is arguably Conte's first name on the team sheet.

The Italian manager is likely to bring in Tiemoue Bakayoko in place of the injured Kante.

The former Monaco midfielder has been used sparingly since recuperating from an injury, but the time may have arrived for him to show why he was signed in the summer.

Crystal Palace, too, have injury worries of their own. Christian Benteke, Ruben Loftus Cheek, and Wilfried Zaha have all been ruled out of the fixture. The Eagles, who are yet to find the back of the net this season, will rely on the likes of Bakary Sako and Andros Townsend to provide them with goal-scoring opportunities.

Lineups

Crystal Palace

  • Goalkeeper: Julian Speroni
  • Defenders: Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Scott Dann, Mamadou Sakho, Patrick van Aanholt
  • Midfielders: Luka Milivojević, Yohan Cabaye, Jason Puncheon
  • Forwards: Andros Townsend, Bakary Sako, James McArthur

Chelsea

  • Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
  • Defenders: Victor Moses, Cesar Azipilicueta, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso
  • Midfielders: Tiemoue Bakayoko, Cesc Fabregas
  • Attackers: Pedro, Michy Batshuayi, Eden Hazard

Prediction

Chelsea go into this game as favorites and should be able to get the job done against Palace. The Eagles are still to score this season, and it will be extremely difficult to breach the back three that Chelsea has executed to near perfection since last season.

Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea