The Blues remain undefeated in the league as they prepare to for a London derby against a bogey team from the south of the city
Chelsea welcome Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge for their third London derby of the season, as Maurizio Sarri’s side aim to go 16 games unbeaten in all competitions.
Roy Hodgson’s outfit were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Middlesbrough on Wednesday, while the Blues squeezed passed Frank Lampard’s Derby County in a 3-2 win, despite a sub-par display.
Chelsea were much better in their recent 4-0 Premier League win over Burnley, while Palace drew 2-2 at home to Arsenal to halt a run of three defeats that saw them slide towards the relegation zone.
Eden Hazard is back in training and he is set for a return against Palace, after missing almost two weeks with a back injury that he sustained against Manchester United. Maurizio Sarri issued an update on Hazard’s fitness ahead of the game.
“Eden yesterday he had a large part of the training with the team,” He said at Cobham. “It may be he will not be ready for 90 minutes yet. It was the first part of training for a few weeks. He might be able to play for 40/45 minutes.”
Ethan Ampadu is also back in training but he will struggle to make the squad amid competition from more experienced players.
Olivier Giroud is a doubt after suffering fatigue in his leg, although he could be brought back to face Palace. Pedro overcame his recent sickness to make a substitute appearance against Derby in the cup.
Neither Chelsea nor Crystal Palace have any players out with suspensions ahead of Sunday’s clash, while there are no players in danger of bans should they pick up yellow cards.
Hazard will likely be thrown back in the side as Sarri will look to play his strongest possible side, as the upcoming Europa League fixture will feature a second-string XI in a group that is close to being won already.
Morata has started the last two games but Sarri could opt to play Giroud for his height against a team which defends deep and likes to hit their rivals on the counterattack.
Ross Barkley seems to be establishing himself as a starter ahead of Mateo Kovacic on the left side of midfield, while the rested players from midweek will return, including the likes of Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Christian Benteke is out after having an operation on his knee, while the defensive duo of Joel Ward and Scott Dann are expected to miss the match on Sunday with minor issues.
The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 16:00 BST on Sunday and it will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
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