High-flying Blues face Crystal Palace in London derby

Inform Chelsea look to continue their winning run ahead of their clash with Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have won their last five games in the league resulting in manager Frank Lampard winning the October Manager of the Month award with a number of players hitting a fine run of form in the process. Christian Pulisic has kickstarted his Chelsea career in recent weeks scoring a hat-trick against Burnley and again finding the net last week against Watford.  Chelsea currently sit in fourth place, level on points with third placed Leicester.

Crystal Palace’s fantastic start to the season has been halted by their recent run of form. The Eagles have won none of their last three games and have picked up just one point in the process but they sit comfortably in ninth place. Palace have also won five of their last eight games on the travel.

Lampard spoke about his recent award at his pre-match press conference:

“Proud, appreciate it. Really nice award to win. Against a very good competition, I respect the other managers. I appreciate that. A good time to thank the people at this club, there are people behind the scenes, my staff and the players.”

Ahead of the trip to West London, manager Roy Hodgson was full of praise for the Chelsea boss:

“Frank Lampard has done a very good job, there is no question about that.

‘The club have done a good job in encouraging the manager and his staff to blood some of the players that had previously been out on loan. Everyone at the club deserves a pat on the back for that.

‘I’m certain that Frank will be more than happy with how the team has started, the way the team has played and where they find themselves both in the Premier League and the Champions League. It is happy days for him I am sure.”

Team news:

Lampard has confirmed that Mason Mount will be in the squad having limped off in the 4-4 draw against Ajax on Tuesday night and his fitness will be assessed closer to the game. Ross Barkley will however miss out as so do long term absentees Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Jorginho will also not be involved as he serves a suspension.

Crystal Palace will have a fully fit squad to choose from. Andros Townsend, Gary Cahill, James McArthur and Cheikhou Kouyate have all recovered from small knocks.

Head to head:

Crystal Palace have been Chelsea’s bogey team in recent years. The Eagles have beaten the Blues four times since their promotion to the Premier League in 2013, this includes two wins at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have however won the last three games in this fixture.