“You can never be too sure” - Mark Lawrenson makes prediction on who will win Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Pundit Mark Lawrenson believes Chelsea will come out 2-0 victors in the Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace on Monday night (February 12).
The Blues enter this fixture on the back of a convincing 3-1 win against Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday (February 7). However, they suffered a 4-2 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in their last league fixture (February 4).
Meanwhile, the Eagles were beaten 4-1 by Brighton in the Premier League last week (February 3).
Predicting this fixture in favor of Mauricio Pochettino's men, Lawrenson wrote (via Paddy Power News):
"Chelsea were really good against Aston Villa in the cup but Crystal Palace have been poor and the manager’s under pressure. You can never be too sure what you’re going to get with the Blues but I think they will win this."
Currently, Chelsea are placed 11th in the league standings with 31 points, 15 behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are 14th and have racked up 24 points, just five clear of the drop zone.
When these two teams met earlier in the season, it was the Blues who ended up winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge (December 28).
Former Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas lavishes praise on young Blues defender
Ex-Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas has, meanwhile, lavished praise on Blues defender Benoit Badiashile after his performance in the west Londoners' FA Cup win against Aston Villa.
During his playing days, the former Arsenal midfielder shared the pitch 45 times with Badiashile for Monaco across competitions.
Speaking highly of the young centre-back, Fabregas told the Planet Premier League Podcast (via The Boot Room):
"I played with Disasi and Badiashile, Badiashile is one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in all the young players in Europe, there is a lot of quality and a lot of talent."
The 22-year-old former France under-21 international arrived at Stamford Bridge from Monaco in January 2023 for a reported €38 million. Since then, he's made just 23 appearances across competitions for the Blues, bagging two goals and an assist.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman has missed 19 games due to multiple injuries but will be hoping to consistently earn gametime, having returned to full fitness. He's played 12 matches in all competitions this campaign, bagging a goal and assist each.