Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Premier League football betting preview, free tip & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Crystal Palace v Chelsea in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Action & Main Event, 6pm Tuesday

Best bet

Chelsea to win & under 3.5 goals
2pts 23-20 Betway, BoyleSports, Coral

Team news

Crystal Palace
Defenders Martin Kelly, Jeffrey Schlupp and James Tomkins all miss out for the hosts.

Chelsea
Fikayo Tomori and Mateo Kovacic are still short of full fitness and N'Golo Kante is a major doubt.

Match preview

Chelsea lost 3-2 at West Ham in a thrilling London derby last week but the Blues should grind out a victory over another capital club, Crystal Palace, on Tuesday.

Frank Lampard's men, who conceded an 89th-minute winner against the Hammers, got their top-four challenge back on track with a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Watford at the weekend.

That was an important win given that their closest rivals Leicester and Manchester United had already claimed three points and Lampard can be satisfied with his side's return to action following the coronavirus break.

The Blues have won three of their four Premier League games, including a 2-1 home triumph over Manchester City, while a Ross Barkley goal earned them a 1-0 victory in the FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester.

Chelsea's squad depth has helped them during this hectic period although Lampard has some issues in midfield with Mateo Kovacic injured, N'Golo Kante a major doubt and Jorginho seemingly out of favour.

The Blues still have plenty of attacking options with the in-form Willian scoring five goals in his last five games and Barkley, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Pedro, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi available.

Chelsea's away matches this season have tended to be open contests, producing an average of 3.8 goals per game, and the Blues have kept only one clean sheet on their 16 road trips.

However, their defenders will not have been losing sleep over the prospect of visiting Selhurst Park and a low-scoring Chelsea victory looks the best bet.

Roy Hodgson has squeezed the most out of his side's meagre attacking resources and only bottom club Norwich have scored fewer goals than Palace's 28.

A hat-trick of 1-0 wins over Newcastle, Brighton and Watford just before the break effectively ensured their top-flight status for another season and they returned to action with a 2-0 win at Bournemouth.

Since then, however, Palace have lost to nil against Liverpool, Burnley and out-of-form Leicester, where their only attempt on target was a Gary Cahill header.

The defender also missed their best chance against Burnley, which shows that the Eagles are struggling to create opportunities from open play, and the Clarets were the fifth visiting team to win to nil at Selhurst this season.

Fourteen of Palace's 16 home league games have featured under 2.5 goals – the other two were a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool and a 2-1 win over West Ham. Chelsea won November's reverse fixture 2-0 and should have the edge over their toothless hosts again.

Key stat

Palace have scored only four goals in ten league games against teams above them in the table.

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