Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace Prediction: London Derby at Stamford Bridge

• Chelsea are still on a high after winning the Club World Cup in the summer

• Crystal Palace have also developed a taste for winning silverware of late

• This will not be an easy encounter for Chelsea on the opening weekend

Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace Odds

The odds for Chelsea vs Crystal Palace can be found in the odds table below. The odds have been provided by the FanDuel Sportsbook. Sign up for a FanDuel account today and claim the welcome offer: Bet $5, Get $300 in Bonus Bets if your bet wins.

My -142 Pick for Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace

Tip both teams to score. Chelsea have retooled their offense in the summer transfer market, but Crystal Palace carry an attacking threat too.

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Chelsea Aiming to Get Involved in the Premier League Title Race

Chelsea had a turbulent season last time out. A strong start under Enzo Maresca gave way to an alarming dip in form in the winter, before Chelsea came on strong again towards the end of the campaign. 

In the end it was a hugely successful season: Chelsea qualified for the Champions League by finishing in the top four of the Premier League, then won the Conference League and the Club World Cup. Those were their first trophies of the post-Roman Abramovich era.

Maresca has earned the right to continue building the team in his image, but it is fair to say he was not the flavor of the month among the Chelsea fan base at times last term. 

Maresca's patient style of play did not go down well with a set of supporters that is used to more direct, pragmatic tactics. Maresca was accused of stifling his players’s freedom and creativity, particularly when Chelsea were struggling after Christmas.

The Italian stuck to his guns, though, and he was vindicated by Chelsea’s success in those two knockout tournaments. The target this season is to make inroads in the Champions League while also getting closer to the teams at the top of the Premier League. With a bit of luck on their side, Chelsea might even be able to mount a challenge for the title - the sportsbooks rate them as fourth-favorites at the time of writing.

But their Club World Cup exploits, which were a huge plus for an outfit that has defined itself by silverware over the last two decades, could ultimately have an adverse effect on Chelsea's title chances. 

Some Premier League clubs had already begun pre-season when the Blues were still competing in the USA. There is a danger that fatigue will set in at some point, perhaps around Christmas time. For the time being, though, Chelsea are in a decent place.

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Crystal Palace Living Their Best Life Under Oliver Glasner

Crystal Palace are less accustomed to lifting trophies than Chelsea, but they have also scooped two pots in the last few months. Their victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May was the greatest day in Palace’s history, and while the Community Shield is not quite as iconic an event, Oliver Glasner’s side did extremely well to beat Liverpool at Wembley Stadium last weekend.

After that high last Sunday, Palace were brought back down to earth 24 hours later as the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld their demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League. That means Palace will play in Europe’s third-tier competition this season after failing to meet UEFA’s multi-club ownership deadline before the March deadline. The only silver lining is that the Eagles have a better chance of winning the Conference League.

In order to be more competitive across four fronts, Oliver Glasner needs a deeper squad. Palace have had a quiet summer, making only two signings - one of whom is a back-up goalkeeper. They have kept their squad intact so far, although Ebere Eze and Marc Guehi continue to be linked with moves away from Selhurst Park. Palace need a strong end to the transfer window if they are to kick on.

Glasner has shown himself to be a fantastic manager and, provided they can keep hold of their star players and get one or two new faces in, Palace could challenge for the top seven this season. They have been terrific for much of 2025, and they showed against Liverpool in the Community Shield that they can compete with some of the strongest sides in the division - and, by extension, in Europe.

This London derby represents a difficult start to the campaign for Palace, but you write this team off at your peril.

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Chelsea Will Be Challenged by Crystal Palace on Sunday

Chelsea are the favorites to win this match and that makes sense. They finished fourth in the Premier League last season, whereas Crystal Palace were a bottom-half team. Chelsea also have much more strength in depth than Palace, who are reliant on a core group of players without too many alternatives behind them.

Yet in a 90-minute match, Palace are capable of hanging with Chelsea. As well as winning the FA Cup, the Eagles lost just two of their last 13 league games at the end of last season. They are a tough nut to crack under Glasner, who will doubtless be linked with some big jobs if he keeps this up.

Go back further and you will find that Palace have scored in 18 of their last 20 Premier League games. Expand that to all competitions and you are looking at two blanks drawn in 27 matches. That is an excellent record and one which suggests Chelsea’s defense, which is missing the injured Levi Colwill, will come unstuck on Sunday.

The Blues have enough quality in forward areas to find the back of the net themselves, so we reckon both teams to score is the best betting angle for this encounter.

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How to Watch Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace

• Teams: Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

• Location: Stamford Bridge, London, England

• Date and Time: Sunday, August 17 at 9:00 AM ET

• How to Watch: USA Network