Chelsea come into the new season on the back of a trophy-laden 2024/25 campaign, winning the Conference League and Club World Cup

The Premier League returns to Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Chelsea host Crystal Palace in a London derby that promises both quality and intensity.

Chelsea come into the new season on the back of a trophy-laden 2024/25 campaign, winning the Conference League and Club World Cup while securing a fourth-place finish. Enzo Maresca’s side ended last season in strong form, winning five of their final six league matches, and their underlying data backed up their results.

At home, they posted the third-best record in the league (W12-D5-L2), averaging 1.65 xG per game with a +0.39 xG differential, and failing to score just once. The summer has brought further attacking options, with Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap joining Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in a deep and balanced squad.

Crystal Palace arrive as FA Cup holders after a memorable run last season, which also saw them finish ninth. Oliver Glasner’s men were among the league’s most efficient travellers, ranking fourth for away xPTS (30.36) and keeping clean sheets in 37% of away matches.

However, their record away to top-half opposition was modest (W1-D5-L4). Palace lost Michael Olise to Bayern Munich last summer and have since relied heavily on Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta for creativity and goals. Borna Sosa and Walter Benitez have strengthened them defensively, but there is a question over their ability to create and convert chances in these fixtures consistently.

The head-to-head record in recent years favours Chelsea, and their home dominance against bottom-half and mid-table sides last season suggests they will have the initiative. Palace’s disciplined shape and counter threat could keep them competitive, but Chelsea’s control of possession and ability to create high-quality opportunities in the box make them the favourites to start their league campaign with three points.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Palmer, Gittens, Joao Pedro.

Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson, Munoz, Mitchell, Lacroix, Guehi, Kamada, Wharton, Richards, Sarr, Eze, Mateta.