Chelsea look for their first win in three as they begin their post-Christmas schedule against Crystal Palace.
The Blues' up and down season means they currently sit in 11th place, a full 14 points outside of the top four race right now. They are considerably closer on the table to Wednesday's opponent Palace, who are four points behind in 14th. It means the upcoming matchup is as an unusually intriguing midtable clash in which the onus is once again on Chelsea to finally live up to their potential.
Here's what you need to know before tuning in.
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 27 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge -- London, England
- Live stream: Peacock
- Odds: Chelsea -141; Draw +280; Crystal Palace +420
Storylines
Last week's come-from-behind EFL Cup victory over Newcastle United was a lone reprieve during an unimpressive run of form. Since the team's bizarre 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Nov. 6, Chelsea have won just once in a seven game stretch -- a 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Dec. 16 that provided little to write home about. Their most recent unspectacular result was a 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve, a match they dominated but were ultimately ineffective during.
The lone bright spot from the Wolves loss was that Christopher Nkunku scored his first Chelsea goal after returning from a knee surgery that delayed his debut. The forward will be the central focus as Chelsea try to reboot their season, but Mauricio Pochettino's team will still be depleted on Wednesday. In addition to the ongoing injury crisis, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling will miss this matchup through yellow card accumulation.
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Prediction
Palace are far from the most dangerous side in the Premier League, but Chelsea's problem is that they aren't either. Another uninspiring performance is probably in the cards for the hosts, which might be good news for the visitors. Pick: Chelsea 1, Crystal Palace 1
