Chelsea open a new season this Sunday with a familiar test and a fresh edge.
Three weeks after lifting the Club World Cup in New Jersey, Enzo Maresca turns the lights back on at Stamford Bridge and asks for the one thing champions-in-waiting must show: a fast start.
History leans blue on opening weekends and against Palace, yet last year’s pair of draws keep tension in the air. Urgency helps: win now, set tempo, let doubts chase someone else.
Selection shapes the plot. Robert Sánchez should start behind Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, debutant Jorrel Hato, and Marc Cucurella.
Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández hold the pivot; Cole Palmer pulls strings at ten. Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens stretch the touchlines, with Liam Delap—unless João Pedro’s final impress tips the call—leading the line.
Nicolas Jackson is suspended. Wesley Fofana is back in full training; Levi Colwill is a doubt.
Palace arrive with Oliver Glasner’s snap: disciplined pressing, quick transitions, belief. Dean Henderson anchors; Marc Guéhi marshals. Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell fly the wings.
Midfield bite from Will Hughes and Daichi Kamada feeds Eberechi Eze, who carries menace between lines. Mateta lurks for the one-touch finish. Away form improved last spring; that memory travels.
The mirror test for Chelsea is simple: can Maresca’s structure turn control into chances before fatigue turns minutes into worry?
Keep the press tight, the distances short, and set pieces ruthless. Stamford Bridge has been hard to breach. Keep it that way.
Prediction: Chelsea 2–1 Crystal Palace.