Crystal Palace vs Chelsea: N'Golo Kante fires Maurizio Sarri's side to victory
Re-live the action from Selhurst Park
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Your support makes all the difference.N'Golo Kante earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace to boost the Blues' bid for a place in the Premier League's top four.
Kante, a World Cup winner with France last summer, has been deployed in a more advanced position on the right side of midfield by Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
He netted his third Premier League goal of the season at Selhurst Park as Chelsea ended Palace's three-match unbeaten run to move five points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal in the battle for Champions League qualification.
Willian and Ross Barkley had hit posts in quick succession in the first half and the hosts' performance showed little of the style and substance which had earned victory at Manchester City eight days earlier. Re-live the action below:
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Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
90 minutes
Four minutes of added time will be played. Morata has a great chance to pick out a teammate on the break but loses the ball and Palace continue to push forward.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
90+2 minutes
Milivojevic curls a free kick dangerously towards the far post. Luiz is there with a strong header. Good defending from the Brazilian centre back.
Full time: That's it! Chelsea hold on, but they always looked comfortable. A narrow, unspectacular victory at Selhurst Park, but no less important than any of their previous wins. Chelsea move to within a point of Manchester City and go five clear of fifth placed Arsenal.
Kante's goal was enough for Chelsea in the end. Palace defended well for much of the game, but they didn't have enough to threaten the Blues' defence. Hodgson's side stay in 14th, still with work to do to remain out of trouble this season.
Our attention turns to the 2.15 kick offs now. Manchester City go to Southampton looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat, while Burnley, desperate for points, host West Ham.
Team News
Here are the Southampton and Manchester City teams:
City make five changes to their team, with Kompany and Fernandinho back.
For Southampton, it's a youthful lineup. Kayne Ramsay, just 18-years-old, starts for the Saints.
A few weeks back this would have been viewed as a near guaranteed City win. But their poor form and Southampton's resurgence under new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl makes this an interesting one. If City don't win, the gap to Liverpool will be even bigger ahead of next week's crucial game against the Reds at the Etihad.
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