In the lunch-time kickoff on Sunday Chelsea FC take on London rivals Crystal Palace although the word “rival” is a bit of a stretch considering the differing fortunes of the teams. Let’s call it a less than friendly London Derby and leave it that.
As you almost certainly know by now, if Chelsea FC take all three points against the Eagles they officially clinch the title with three matches left to go. They will not be able to lift the trophy until the final matchday against Sunderland but it will be mathematically decided and we can imagine Stamford Bridge will be rocking with a title-winning party.
This is a chance for redemption for John Terry and Chelsea as they saw their title hopes truly dashed when they fell 1-0 late last season to the Eagles courtesy of an own goal from the captain. How sweet would it be for the club’s talismanic defender to seal its first Premier League title in five years against the team that he essentially lost the title to last season? Even if that fairy tale ending does not happen it will still be fantastic to wrap up the title at home in front of the adoring Chelsea faithful.
Crystal Palace are a respectable 12th in the Premier League table and have been one of the surprise teams of the season after manager Alan Pardew took the reigns. They have claimed some big victories against teams like Manchester City and have won four of their last six matches but have lost two in a row. They are safe from relegation and their only real incentives for winning their final games are to play spoiler and to make the club a few extra million pounds from the Premier League cash prizes at the end of the season.
Alan Pardew believes that he is good enough to manage the big clubs so he will hope that his players make that point for him by taking down another one of the big clubs but Jose Mourinho will not allow that to happen. Mourinho will want his players to clinch the title at home and we know he has little trouble motivating his boys.
Chelsea are still without Diego Costa but Loic Remy should be back after taking a few weeks off because of his own injury problems. Thibaut Courtois is also a doubt but it would be nice to see Petr Cech get another start in the match that decides the title.
Crystal Palace will be without their two strikers Marouane Chamakh and Frazier Campbell but Glenn Murray has been excellent in their stead. This is a match Chelsea FC should win handily so a 8-0 coronation like our last title winning season would be an excellent way to wrap things up.
Where To Watch:
Online: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Universo Now (USA); Star Sports (India)
Television: Sky Sports 1 (UK); NBCSN, NBC Universo (USA); Star Sports 4 / HD 4 (India)
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