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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea lead the Premier League table by nine points after beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park on Saturday thanks to a first-half Diego Costa header, with Arsenal and Liverpool not playing until Sunday and Monday respectively, and recorded their 11th consecutive victory. Re-live the action here.
- Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park
- Diego Costa header seals three points for the Blues
- Costa picks up fifth booking of the season and will miss Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth
- N'Golo Kante will also be suspended against Cherries
- Chelsea lead Arsenal and Liverpool by nine points
Follow live coverage on our blog below...
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.
It’s a big game for…
Cesc Fabregas: Speculation abounds about Fabregas’ future, despite him recently breaking into Antonio Conte’s starting line-up.
After scoring the decisive goal at Sunderland, he’ll hope he can further stake his claim for a regular place.
Best stat…
8: Crystal Palace have not won any of their last eight games against fellow London clubs. In fact, their last derby victory came at Stamford Bridge in August 2015.
Remember when…
John Terry scored an own goal to gift Tony Pulis’ Palace three points and effectively end Chelsea’s 2013/14 title challenge.
Player to watch…
Wilfried Zaha: The winger’s switch of international allegiances from England to Cote d’Ivoire at the end of last month has coincided with a upturn in form.
Alan Pardew has voiced his frustrations at the national team set-up for forgetting about Zaha, but that may have more to do with the possibility of him now travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations in January and missing a month of the domestic season.
Past three-meetings…
Chelsea 1 (Hazard) Crystal Palace 0
Premier League, May 2015
Chelsea 1 (Falcao) Crystal Palace 2 (Sako, Ward)
Premier League, August 2015
Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 3 (Oscar, Willian, Costa)
Premier League, January 2016
Form guide…
Crystal Palace: LLWDL
Chelsea: WWWWW
Vital information…
Kick-off time: 12.30pm
TV: Live on Sky Sports, highlights on BBC1
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage as Conte's men take a trip to Selhurst Park for our 12:30 kick-off. Stay tuned for team-news and live minute-by-minute updates of today's fixture.
Line-ups announced shortly...
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage as Conte's men take a trip to Selhurst Park for our 12:30 kick-off. Stay tuned for team-news and live minute-by-minute updates of today's fixture.
Line-ups announced shortly...
It's a crucial clash for Conte's men
The table toppers will be hoping for their 11th consecutive league win today to equal a club record, but Palace will be hoping to bring this run of fine form to the end. It's been a somewhat drab start to the league campaign for The Eagles, as they enter the clash with just 15 points from their first 16 games. Pardew's men have a point to prove and a reputation to redeem.
Following his fine spell of form, Chelsea fans will be delighted to see the Belgian forward return to the side today. He really has reignited his form which is spurring the success of Conte's side at the moment. He's been a key element to the Chelsea strike force.
The Eagles only home league win against Chelsea since 1990 was at Selhurst Park in March 2014. The home side will be homing to put an end to this curse, with Pardew's men carrying more than enough ability to cause an upset. We are set for an exciting London derby, that's for sure.
Kick-off in 10 minutes...
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