Chelsea have made a decent start to life under Liam Rosenior with three wins in his first four games, the only defeat a Cup match against league-leaders Arsenal, but our overall form remains on the disappointing end, especially in the Premier League, away from home. It’s been almost exactly two months since we tasted victory on the road, beating relegation-candidates Burnley.
A trip to Selhurst Park may just be what the doctor ordered then. Crystal Palace are in absolute disarray at the moment, winless in ten — including an historic loss against non-league (sixth tier!) Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup — captain Marc Guéhi gone, leading-scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta possibly also leaving, and manager Oliver Glasner all but checked out as well.
Despite our recent relegation form (eight points in nine before last week’s win over Brentford), we remain in contention for a top-five finish. But we absolutely have to pick up points from these sorts of unglamorous games if we want to stay there.
Date / Time: Sunday, January 25, 2026, 14.00 GMT; 9am EST; 7:30pm IST
Venue: Selhurst Park, London
Referee: Darren England (on pitch); Tony Harrington (VAR)
Forecast: rain showers
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); USA, Telemundo (USA); none (India); SuperSport Premier League (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Crystal Palace Manager Oliver Glasner is present during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Crystal Palace at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
Crystal Palace team news: Guéhi may be gone, but Glasner left no room for speculation by announcing in the press conference that Mateta will very much be in action against us tomorrow, despite bids and rumors and transfer drama. Glasner can also count on two returning players, though it’s unclear to exactly what extent, with full back Dani Muñoz back from a knee injury and forward Ismaïla Sarr back from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal. Veteran backup defender Nathaniel Clyne is also available after missing out the last couple weeks, but the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Cheick Doucouré, and Daichi Hamada remain out with various injuries.
Glasner has declared open warfare on upper management for what he perceives as lack of support in the transfer market, though Palace did sign a 24-year-old Brennan Johnson at the start of the month, for a club-record £35m. Whether that’s a wise way to spent that much money is debatable, especially with Johnson scoring just four times for Spurs this season after a career-year (18 goals in all competitions) last season, but he’s yet to score against Chelsea in eight games, so he might be hoping that a change of scenery will help him in that regard as well.
COBHAM, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Cole Palmer of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on January 23, 2026 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea team news: The illness that has swept through the squad the last couple weeks appears to be under control now, but injuries remain a problem, especially with Dário Essugo suffering a setback in his recovery and now expected to be out for at last another month. He’s not played all season. Roméo Lavia is also out of course (forever “on his way back”), which may prompt Chelsea to dip into the transfer market for a midfielder on loan. Douglas Luiz has been mentioned, but N’Golo Kanté would be a lot cooler.
Rosenior expects to have Cole Palmer available for this one after a knock (apparently not related to his persistent groin issues) caused him to miss our Champions League match midweek, but backup goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen will miss out due to some minor injury he picked up in that same game. Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill remain out as well. Axel Disasi has been training with the first-team, in part to help make up numbers, but he’s not expected to actually feature in any sort of real game.
Previously: We’re unbeaten in 16 straight against Palace, but the last three, against Glasner’s teams, have been all draws, including the scoreless affair on opening day at the Bridge.
