Chelsea V Crystal Palace: Premier League – Live

Key events

Show cardinal events only

Please move connected JavaScript to usage this feature

He admits its’s been difficult pinch nan short break but says it’s been a bully break. Otherwise, he hopes to person Tosin for nan adjacent game, and successful nan meantime is judge Acheampong tin improve. It was a difficult but bully prime to make betwixt Pedro and Delap, but there’ll beryllium plentifulness of games for both.

Though he’s spent large connected strikers and won’t kick if 1 scores 30 goals, nan squad are group up to stock them around, pinch each players fixed licence to get progressive successful nan place.

Let’s commencement pinch Chelsea, for whom nan header news is nan beingness of nan 19-year-old Josh Acheampong successful nan centre of their defence pursuing nan superior wounded sustained by Levi Colwill and successful nan absence of Tosin. That’s a immense ballot of assurance for him – little truthful for Wesley Fofana, near connected nan bench.

Otherwise, it’s João Pedro up front, pinch Liam Delap connected nan bench, but here’s Maresca truthful let’s spell to him and travel bac kto what he’s done.

Teams!

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; João Pedro. Subs: Jorgensen, Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Essugo, Andrey Santos, Estevão, George, Delap.

Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze. Subs: Benitez, Clyne, Sosa, Cardines, Devenny, Rak-Sakyi, Lerma, Esse, Edouard.

Preamble

Happy caller play 1 and each – isolated from for our teams today, nan past 1 ne'er really ended, and for nan champion imaginable reasons.

Chelsea vanished its home facet successful shape that was conscionable bully enough, qualifying for nan Champions League and possibly redeeming Enzo Maresca’s occupation successful nan process. After that, though, things really sewage going.

It’s easy to opportunity that Chelsea were fitting winners of nan first Club World Cup, bringing together, arsenic it did, geopolitics posing arsenic sport, Saudi money, US imperialism, far-right dictatorship, and ersatz, artificial prestige. But it’s improbable nan players are giving this immoderate thought, alternatively captured by their increasing consciousness of mission: an entity that erstwhile looked atomised, incoherent and disconnected has since fused into a definitive whole, nan squad unafraid successful nan knowledge that they tin out-think, out-play and out-fight nan champion squad successful nan world successful a large final. They will consciousness invincible.

But truthful excessively will Palace, their players and head already legends and nan 2 top games successful their history nan past 2 they’ve played. It is not conscionable that they hit Manchester City to triumph nan FA Cup, their first trophy, past Liverpool to triumph nan Community Shield, their second, though they did. It is besides that they did some successful dramatic, affirming, inspirational manner, delivering a buzz to prolong each progressive for nan remainder of their lives. They will consciousness invincible.

Life being life, though, pinch triumphs comes pitfalls. By nan clip Chelsea hit Paris Saint-Germain successful mid-July, their rivals had had a period aliases truthful disconnected and already started pre-season, an unhealthy and borderline barbaric authorities of affairs that will surely nonstop a toll astatine immoderate point. The intelligence and beingness accent of elite-level athletics is real, not thing that tin aliases should beryllium overridden pinch money, glory and team-spirt. There is simply a indebtedness to pleasance and successful their lawsuit it will beryllium fatigue – nan only mobility is erstwhile it hits and really they negociate it.

Palace, meanwhile, are victims of their ain success. Eberechi Eze, their champion player, looks apt to time off for Spurs, while Marc Guêhi, their captain, could good beryllium disconnected to Liverpool. With nether 2 weeks near successful nan transportation window, simply replacing them will beryllium difficult, ne'er mind replacing them pinch players of balanced ability, and moreover if that happens, those players will request nurturing and moulding – or, successful different words, alternatively than build connected their achievements to get better, it is much apt they are poised get worse. There is simply a indebtedness to pleasance and successful their lawsuit it will beryllium pillaging – nan only mobility is really they mitigate it.

All of which makes this an absolute banger of an opening-weekend fixture. Bring it on!

Kick-off: 2pm BST