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Chelsea: Three things to look for versus Crystal Palace

By Varun Dani

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 26: Christian Pulisic of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on July 26, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 26: Christian Pulisic of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on July 26, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images) /
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and Chelsea’s English midfielder Mason Mount vies with Chelsea’s English midfielder Ross Barkley West Ham United’s English midfielder Declan Rice during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Chelsea at The London Stadium, in east London on July 1, 2020.(Photo by ADAM DAVY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
and Chelsea’s English midfielder Mason Mount vies with Chelsea’s English midfielder Ross Barkley West Ham United’s English midfielder Declan Rice during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Chelsea at The London Stadium, in east London on July 1, 2020.(Photo by ADAM DAVY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea hosts Crystal Palace for its first London Derby of the new campaign, here are some things to look for in the match.

Clues, debuts and experiments will be in the offing as Lampard’s blue legion seeks a positive result to end a rather disappointing first month of the 2020/21 season. The air of optimism that Chelsea’s transfer window brought around Stamford Bridge was refreshing. For once, it seemed like there were lesser toxic debates within the fanbase and a rather healthy support of the man at the helm, Frank Lampard.

But within a space of four weeks, that healthy support has quickly become unnecessary skepticism, as the pressure continues to mount on the young manager’s shoulders. Will his players finally shoulder the burden brought upon him by their inconsistent performances or will Chelsea head into the international break with increased drama? Narratives, narratives and more narratives dominate the Palace derby day; here are three things to look for:

1. Final transfer clues

In terms of team selections, Lampard’s starting XI, bench or travelling squad against Palace could give some subtle transfer clues ahead of the summer transfer deadline day. Questions were asked when Ross Barkley wasn’t utilized as even a substitute in the midweek loss to Spurs. Chelsea was in dire need of fresh legs off the bench to re-establish control on the midfield, but Lampard refused to logically field Barkley, as he has done to great aplomb previously.

The answer was very simple; Barkley was off to Aston Villa on loan.

While most fans were shocked by the suddenness of the move, his lack of involvement against Spurs seemed like a very obvious clue that no one seemed to catch on to. With question marks surrounding the future of a handful of Chelsea players, even at this stage of the window, expect Lampard to drop multiple transfer hints with his squad selection on Saturday.

Maybe Jorginho is off to Arsenal or PSG and finds himself replaced by Tiemoue Bakayoko in the squad. Maybe Victor Moses takes Callum Hudson-Odoi’s place in the team as the latter finally moves to Germany. Maybe Emerson and Alonso co-pilot a jet to Italy as Ian Maatsen crashes into the first team scene—or maybe nothing happens at all. If Declan Rice stays at West Ham or Thomas Partey at Atletico, the possibilities are endless.

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