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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...
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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
48 MINS
Palace look although they had an injection of energy at half-time. The tempo of the game is quick and Courtois makes his first save of the game, following a long shot from Cabaye.
51 MINS
Palace are stringing the ball around well at the back, but are unable to find the final product at the moment. Ward whips a ball into the box, but Courtois leaps above the Palace forwards and claims the ball.
54 MINS
Kante clashes with Puncheon and gives away a free kick from a wide angle. Palace players flood the box, but Cabayes delivery is dealt with easily by Azpilicueta.
57 MINS
Possession statistics so far this half:
Crystal Palace: 65%
Chelsea: 35%
60 MINS
Yellow Card: Moses picks up a booking for his sliding challenge into the side of Puncheon. This means he will also miss the boxing day clash.
63 MINS
Moses charges away from Puncheon and finds Willian on the right hand side. The Brazilian sends the ball back into the path of his teammate, but he is unable to get the shot away.
Substitution: Willian will be replaced by Fabregas
66 MINS
Chelsea begin to retain possession and start to control the tempo of the game again.
Alonso rattles the side netting with a clever volley, following some great play from Moses and Fabregas.
69 MINS
Fabregas has made an instant impact since his introduction today. Hazard bombs forward inside of the box and pulls the ball back into the path of the substitute anD he pulls the trigger - but it's not enough to beat Hennessey,
72 MINS
Hennessey is certainly being put through his paces this half and this times it's from Kante. The build up comes from Costa, Hazard and Moses who manage to find the Chelsea man, but the Palace keeper manages to parry the powerful strike to safety. It doesn't look although it'll be long until they double their tally.
75 MINS
Palace continue unrewarded in their hunt for an equaliser, with Chelsea maintaining their relentless pressure on possession. Delaney picks up the ball at the back and within seconds, he is surrounded by Chelsea shirts and they force a error from the defender. He is left no choice but to kick the ball out for a Chelsea throw, deep into his own half.
Substitution: Puncheon is replaced by Townsend
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