Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Conte’s men can go nine points clear at top
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Six points clear at the top of the Premier League table means that whatever happens this weekend, Chelsea will lead the way on Christmas Day. But that won’t stop Antonio Conte’s men from going out and getting all three points at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
If they do that, they’ll match their best ever winning run in the league (11).
And you’d have to fancy the Blues when you consider that they’ve won eight of their last 10 meetings But their opponents, Crystal Palace.
They’re 8/13 to take all three points in the weekend’s early kick-off, and doing so would mean they’d stretch the gap between themselves and Liverpool in second-place to nine points, with the Reds not playing until Monday night.
It was the visitors who comfortably won this fixture 3-0 last season in what was Guus Hiddink’s first victory in his second spell with the club after they parted ways with Jose Mourinho.
And at 11/1 we wouldn’t be surprised to see a repeat of that scoreline, with the west London outfit currently firing on all cylinders. They’ve conceded just two goals in their last seven league outings, while scoring 15 at the other end.
Oscar opened the scoring that day, although it’s unlikely he’ll do the same again this weekend, with the Brazilian all but set for a move to China.
But it’s no surprise to see Diego Costa head the first goalscorer market at 11/4. The Spaniard has been in exceptional form this year, netting 12 goals in 16 games, with five of those being the first goal scored.
The Eagles have struggled to get going this season, and find themselves in dangerous territory. One win in 10 puts them in 16th-place in the table – three points above the relegation zone.
Four defeats in their last five mean it’s easy to see why they’re priced at 5/1 to take all three points.
Only four sides have scored more than Palace this season though, and perhaps the best value here is Chelsea to win & BTTS at 21/10.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
