Chelsea vs Crystal Palace simulated to predict the Blues' Premier League opener

1 day ago 42

After a fantastic Club World Cup and pre-season, Chelsea begin their 2025/26 Premier League season with a clash against London rivals Crystal Palace.

There has barely been a break for Chelsea's players since the end of the last Premier League campaign, with the Blues going all the way in the Club World Cup before two pre-season games against Bayer Leverkusen and Milan. Enzo Maresca's side has looked impressive across all of their summer fixtures, and now, they return to Premier League action against Palace.

The Eagles enter the clash with their tails up following their Community Shield win against Liverpool last week. Chelsea were unable to beat Palace in either of their Premier League meetings last season, drawing 1-1 in both games.

So, could Chelsea pick up three points in their first Premier League game of the season at Stamford Bridge later today? Let's take a look...

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace score predicted

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries, suspensions, and transfers. The kits from the 2025/26 season aren't available in EA FC 25, so both sides were lined up in last season's kits, while new transfers may have incorrect squad numbers in-game.

We predict that Chelsea could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Sanchez; James Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Palmer, Gittens; Pedro.

We predict that Palace could line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.

Cole Palmer nearly lit up Stamford Bridge in his usual fashion as he tried lobbing the keeper from 40 yards in the opening four minutes, but the Englishman could only look on in agony as his effort clipped the crossbar. It was more than a positive start from Chelsea, but despite pure domination and a hatful of shots, an opening goal was all that was missing.

Palace almost took the lead with their first shot of the game when Jean-Phillipe Mateta headed Daniel Munoz's cross against the post, warning the Blues that getting on the scoresheet was important. Maresca's side continued to control the game in the second half, and with 74 minutes on the clock, Chelsea finally broke the deadlock.

A misplaced pass saw Chelsea cut out a Palace attack in the making, allowing the Blues to hit the visitors on the break. Jamie Gittens carried the ball forward before threading a pass through to Palmer, and on his left, the midfielder drilled a shot into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the 89th minute when Liam Delap was pulled down inside the box by Maxence Lacroix, and the substitute stepped up to take, sending the 'keeper the wrong way to bury the spot kick and secure the three points for the Blues.