Fresh from winning the UEFA Super Cup, Chelsea will begin their 2021-22 Premier League campaign with a home match against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues finished fourth in last season's Premier League table, while Palace - now under the management of former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira - claimed 14th for the second successive campaign.
Match preview
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Chelsea needed a penalty shootout to overcome Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night, as the two teams could not be separated at the end of 120 minutes; it was yet more European silverware for the Blues, who spectacularly beat Manchester City in last season's Champions League final.
Thomas Tuchel has made a huge impression at Stamford Bridge since his arrival, but there is no question that the London club need to show improvement in the Premier League this term, as they only just finished fourth last term, some 19 points behind the champions Man City.
Marcus Bettinelli had been Chelsea's only arrival this summer before the club announced the signing of Romelu Lukaku on Thursday night, with the Inter Milan striker returning to Stamford Bridge in a £97.5m deal.
The Blues played three pre-season friendlies over the summer, beating Bournemouth and Arsenal, in addition to drawing with Tottenham Hotspur, and Saturday's clash with Palace is even more important than it might have been considering that Tuchel's side have a tough start to the campaign.
Indeed, the European Cup winners will visit Arsenal and Liverpool in their two games after the clash with Palace, while a tough September sees them face Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Man City.
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To say that it has been a summer of change at Palace would be a slight understatement, with a new manager in place, as Vieira has replaced Roy Hodgson, and the 45-year-old will be desperate to make an impression in the Premier League, having enjoyed such success as a player.
The Eagles have boosted their squad with the arrivals of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise, Remi Matthews, Jacob Montes and Conor Gallagher, while a whole host of players have left on free transfers, including Andros Townsend, Patrick van Aanholt, James McCarthy, Scott Dann and Gary Cahill.
As a result, there will be a new look to the Palace XI next season, and it will be fascinating to see what the club can achieve this term, having finished 14th in their last two campaigns at this level of football.
The London club have had a busy pre-season in terms of fixtures, playing five times, recording four victories, including a 3-1 success over Watford in their last friendly on August 7, but Vieira will be aware of the challenge that his side will face on Saturday afternoon.
Palace will face Chelsea, Brentford and West Ham United in their three Premier League matches this month, while they will also begin their EFL Cup challenge against fellow top-flight side Watford on August 23.
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Team News
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Chelsea will definitely be without the services of Hakim Ziyech, who suffered a shoulder injury during the UEFA Super Cup with Villarreal on Wednesday night.
Jorginho, Mason Mount, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta all appeared off the bench against the Yellow Submarine, and it would not be a surprise to see all four players come into the XI this weekend.
Marcos Alonso could ultimately get the nod as the left-sided wing-back due to Ben Chilwell's lack of action since the end of last season, while Reece James might also start on the bench, with Callum Hudson-Odoi operating on the right.
Further forward, Timo Werner and Mount could be joined by Kai Havertz, but Lukaku will not be involved, as the striker is in quarantine following his move from Inter Milan.
As for Palace, new signing Olise is unlikely to be available due to a back problem, while Eberechi Eze is definitely out, as the midfielder works his way back from a serious Achilles injury.
Nathan Ferguson is also out with an Achilles rupture, while Vieira will need to assess the fitness of a number of players before naming his starting XI this weekend.
Wilfried Zaha is a certainty to start in the final third of the field, while there could be a debut for Guehi against his former club, but Gallagher is ineligible to play against his parent side, having arrived on loan from Tuchel's side this summer.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Hudson-Odoi, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Werner, Havertz
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Guehi, Mitchell; McArthur, Riedewald, Schlupp; Zaha, Mateta, Ayew
We say: Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace
Chelsea cannot afford to drop points on the opening weekend when taking into account their difficult start to the season, and we are expecting the Blues to triumph on Saturday. Palace have shown plenty of positive signs during pre-season but should come up just short against the European Cup winners.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 63.63%. A draw had a probability of 22.1% and a win for Crystal Palace had a probability of 14.28%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.98%) and 2-1 (9.44%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.32%), while for a Crystal Palace win it was 0-1 (5.65%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Chelsea would win this match.
