Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea have failed to win any of their last four Premier League games (D2 L2). The Blues last went on a longer run without a victory, within a season, in May 2023 (seven games).
Bobbie Jackson
BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesJust a matter of weeks ago Chelsea were being touted as potential rivals to Liverpool in the Premier League title race, however, a disappointing end to 2024 and a sluggish start to 2025 has seen them fall well off the pace.
Eager to halt a three-game winless run - two defeats and a draw - Chelsea started positively at Crystal Palace with Cole Palmer finding the breakthrough after some fine work from Jadon Sancho to lay on the assist.
It felt inevitable that they would grab a second and maybe even a third or fourth as the chances continued to flow.
However, Nicolas Jackson, Sancho, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Josh Acheampong all failed to take their opportunities leaving Chelsea with just a slim 1-0 lead at the break.
Palace were vastly improved for the second period, limiting Chelsea's sight at goal and starting to create chances of their own.
Eberechi Eze gave the Blues a warning just four minutes after the restart when he dragged his effort wide and the game became a more open affair in the aftermath.
Despite being one of the most potent sides in the division - only Liverpool and Tottenham have scored more than Chelsea's 39 - they just couldn't apply the required finishing touch.
Chelsea were punished in the closing stages when Jean-Philippe Mateta popped up with the equaliser.
The draw leaves Chelsea nine points adrift of Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and means they now need to adjust their goals to battling for a top four spot.
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea forward Jadon Sancho has been speaking to Match of the Day about the result at Selhurst Park: "It's very annoying to not get the three points. You have to take your chances and, if you don't, it's never over. To concede that goal, right at the end, is very frustrating.
"I'm very happy to be improving my football. I've felt good since day one here and the staff and players have welcomed me. I just have to show 100% on the pitch.
"There is still a long way to go this season. Today was frustrating but we move on and learn from it."
Danny Murphy
Former England midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, Getty ImagesIt's game management where Chelsea are lacking at times.
They need to know when to slow things down, such as having some men drop off or having someone sitting alongside Moises Caicedo in the base of midfield, instead of this constant trying to go forward.
Against Fulham, it was similar to today. It ended up being end-to-end, like a basketball game towards the end, and they lost.
There is still the quality there and they are a young side. I still think they will be strong in the second half of the season.
Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?
Crystal Palace fans - what did you make of the game?
Chelsea supporters, let us know your thoughts
Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies
There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday, and we will bring you every moment.
Tottenham v Newcastle (12:30)
Aston Villa v Leicester
Bournemouth v Everton
Crystal Palace v Chelsea - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live
Man City v West Ham
Southampton v Brentford
Brighton v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live
Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated
Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.
For week 20, he takes on The Zutons frontman Dave McCabe, who supports Liverpool.
Sutton's prediction: 1-1
Chelsea are having a wobble, and the worry for manager Enzo Maresca is when will it end?
Their performance in their shock defeat by Ipswich was very flat and although Maresca had made a few changes for that game, I saw nothing to suggest they will bounce back with a win at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace have only lost two of their past 11 league games, and they seem to have turned a corner.
This game smells of a draw to me, which will keep Palace moving away from the bottom three, but does not help Chelsea much at the top of the table.
It looks like Maresca was right when he played down his side's title chances after people like myself said before Christmas that they were genuine contenders.
I thought he was just taking the pressure off his players but he is in the building with them every day and he knows them better than the rest of us.
Their past three results suggest they are not going to go the distance, and I can see them dropping more points here.
McCabe's prediction: 0-2
Chelsea will win this - they need to, just to make things more interesting for themselves.
Image source, Getty ImagesEnzo Maresca has said Levi Colwill has the potential to be a future captain of Chelsea.
Fellow defender Reece James currently wears the armband but has missed large parts of the season because of injury.
He last played as a late substitute in the draw with Arsenal on 10 November and did not make it off the bench in Monday's 2-0 loss at Ipswich. However, James could start at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The club skipper's absence has left Maresca searching for alternative leaders, and he namechecked 21-year-old Colwill on Friday.
"I can see day by day, since we started pre-season, it's something [leadership] that he can improve. He is improving a lot," said the Blues boss.
"Even if he doesn't wear the armband, he is one of the captains. In future, he could be one of the captains for this club."
As we enter a new calendar year and the halfway point of the season, the Opta Supercomputer has been busy making its predictions.
But who has the best chance of securing Champions League football next season?
With England given a 97.8% chance of finishing in the top two of Uefa's coefficients rankings and receiving a bonus place in next season's competition, it is highly likely to be a race to finish in the top five of the Premier League this campaign.
One team essentially guaranteed a Champions League spot season, according to the Supercomputer's simulations, is high-flying league leaders Liverpool (100%).
Following closely on their heels are Arsenal and Chelsea, who occupy second and fourthgoing into this weekend's fixtures, with a 99.8% and 91.7% chance of finishing in the top five respectively.
Despite their unprecedented drop-off in form over the past two months, Manchester City fans will be pleased to hear Opta still gives them a 89.1% chance of clinching the potential final Champions League spot next season.
It then becomes a hotly fought battle between two of the most in-form teams in the league right now.
Despite third-placed Nottingham Forest's incredible campaign so far, Nuno Espirito Santo's side still fall below Newcastle United in the predictions for fifth place - with a 33.6% chance compared to the Magpies' 44.6%.
Four teams still have an outside chance of getting that coveted spot, with Aston Villa (13.8%), Bournemouth (9.8%), Fulham (6.2%) and Tottenham (5.4%) in the race.
Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Crystal Palace (kick-off 15:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Maresca confirmed that Wesley Fofana's hamstring injury will keep him out "for a very long time", while Benoit Badiashile "will be out at least until February".
On defender Fofana, who "could be out for the season", he added: "We are together here since we start and every time you ask me about Wes I say many times - I am in love with Wes. That is because he is that kind of defender that gives you a chance to press and be aggressive in one on one on the pitch. Wes is a big loss."
Maresca also confirmed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall "is still out", but midfielder Romeo Lavia "is very close" to a return and captain Reece James "can have minutes" against the Eagles on Saturday.
On the transfer window, Maresca said "there are players that are probably going to leave" and suggested Ben Chilwell "could" be one of those.
On being proved right about Chelsea not being in the title race: "I didn't need to wait to lose games to understand that. I always said why I would like to tell you we are there - because it is something nice, not something bad to be in the title race. But the reason why I said [we are not] was because I didn't think we were ready. I didn't need to wait to lose two games in a row to prove to me or you I was right."
The Blues boss also said that at the start of the season, no-one expected Chelsea to be where they are now but that "means the team is doing very well" and they do not need to "panic" about their position in the race for Champions League football.
He said the recent dip in form is "not going to affect our journey" and added: "This is a journey that started five or six months ago, not five or six years. Other teams started five or six years ago and now are fighting to win the Premier League. We just started five or six months ago."
On if it is about more than just Lavia's absence that has impacted the team: "Football is all about players. You can have the best idea but without the players, you will struggle. Romeo is a top player. With Romeo, we are a better team but when he is not there, we need to manage that kind of game."
He continued: "We have won games without Romeo, but for sure we are better with him. Not only him, but we are a much, much better team with Reece James. [It is] all about the players. I can give players the tools, but if they are not good enough we will not win games."
Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Full commentary of Crystal Palace v Chelsea on BBC Radio 5 Live from 15:00 GMT on Saturday
Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesTeenage defender Aaron Anselmino has officially ended his loan at Boca Juniors and arrived at Chelsea.
The 19-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge from Argentina in the summer for £15m but was immediately loaned back to his former club.
It was always the intention for him to return to Chelsea in January but the Blues will ease the young centre-back into Premier League life.
He will be given time to acclimatise to the level, demands and scrutiny within English football.
That might mean first-team minutes are limited in his initial time in west London.
Anselmino also had a hamstring injury at the end of his spell in Argentina that caused him to miss his final five games at Boca.
After Josh Windass' stunning hit from his own half for Sheffield Wednesday against Derby, BBC Sport has taken a look at some other goals scored from way, way out in English football.
Image source, Getty Images"It was a fantastic goal - every player in the world would like to score a goal like that. Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi to all these brilliant players."
You know you have done something well when the opposition manager, who just happens to be Jose Mourinho, says this about a goal you have scored.
Thibaut Courtois was beaten all ends up by Charlie Adam's incredible shot from 63.9 yards out for Stoke City at Chelsea in April 2015.
It might have come in a defeat by the eventual champions but we're pretty sure not many of you know who scored either goal for the Blues that day.
Adam correctly surmised afterwards that it was a "once-in-a-lifetime" goal.
Only goalkeepers Paul Robinson, Tim Howard and Asmir Begovic - for Tottenham, Everton and Stoke respectively - have scored goals from further out in the Premier League since Opta started collecting records on that stat in 2006-07 - and even they would all admit that, unlike the Scotland midfielder, they were not going for goal.
See which other goals made the list and choose your favourite
Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea need to achieve two big goals in 2025 to feel like it is a successful year.
Firstly, qualify for the Champions League for the first time under the Boehly-Clearlake ownership.
Qualification through a top-four or top-five Premier League finish would allow the club to reduce their losses, ease their profit and sustainability position and build prestige within the football world.
Of course, for a short while, it looked as if Chelsea might mount a title challenge but that was not expected before the start of this season, either at ownership level or by manager Enzo Maresca.
The second goal is to secure silverware, with their biggest chance to win in the Conference League, Uefa's's third-tier European competition, which the Blues have so far dominated due to their vastly superior resources.
If those two goals can be achieved, everyone at Stamford Bridge would be broadly happy with how the season has gone.
And it would show that the club are building under their Italian manager, after a chaotic spell of hiring and firing coaches in the last two seasons.
Furthermore, those who decide the manager's fate will want to see the young players they have signed continuing to improve, develop and realise their potential.
Chelsea feel on course to achieve those goals and, off the field, the club will want a new flagship front-of-shirt sponsor, with optimism one will be signed in the near future, amid talks with multiple potential partners.
There may also be an update on the club's plans to either redevelop or build a new stadium, as they outgrow their current 41,000 capacity stadium near Fulham Broadway underground station.
Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea manager Enzo Maresca tends to bark back at media that suggests the club have 'a big squad'.
The assertion is that it is a lazy barb as Chelsea offloaded a host of players in the summer.
However, simple maths shows Chelsea still have an unusually large squad and must continue their work in January to cut down on numbers.
Maresca often says we don't have more than other clubs, which is the usual 25 players allowed in the Premier League and Uefa competitions (with some allowances to have extra young players).
But let's list the players: Sanchez, Bettinelli, Jorgensen (goalkeepers); James, Gusto, Disasi, Tosin, Colwill, Fofana, Badiashile, Cucurella, Veiga (defenders); Fernandez, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Lavia (midfielders); Palmer, Madueke, Felix, Sancho, Mudryk, Neto (wide attackers); Nkunku, Jackson (strikers).
That's 24 players but it doesn't include Cesare Casadei, Carney Chuwkeuemeka, Ben Chilwell and Marc Guiu - all of whom have substantial first team experience - costing millions when joining Chelsea.
Just including those takes the squad to a 'big' 27 players.
There are also Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong, who have both been promoted from the academy team to first team.
Both Omari Kellyman and Deivid Washington, who cost around £17m, which by adding those four would take the squad to a bigger 31.
There is also Finland international goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom and a host of youth players with first team experience, including Kiano Dyer, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Harvey Vale, Alex Matos, Jimi Tauriainen, Shim Mheuka, Harrison Murray-Campbell and Ato Ampah.
That would take the squad to a much bigger 41 players. Unfortunately, the assertion that Chelsea don't have a big squad doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
In fairness, Chelsea have managed the players they do have exceptionally, splitting the minutes fairly evenly.
They have also had fewer players involved than Brighton, while Spurs equally face criticism over a lack of rotation and for having a small squad.
But Chelsea are open to allowing a few players to leave either permanently or on loan in January.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked you to tell us what Chelsea's New Year's resolution should be.
Here are some of your replies:
Oliver: Chelsea should either give Jorgensen a chance in the Premier League or sign a new goalkeeper. Sanchez can make some brilliant saves but his distribution is what is stopping us from challenging for the title. It gives opponents the opportunity to score too often despite when we have control of the game.
Andrew: Get a reliable goalkeeper. Petrovic was better than Sanchez.
Amer: We need to trust the academy kids a bit more. Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George need first-team minutes to make real progress and would add to the quality in the side.
Louis: I would like to see Maresca continue to trim the team. He has the ones he wants in his style, but there are plenty of incredible players who deserve loans or moves - Chilwell, Carney, etc. Some more sales to help offset the squad's price tag would be welcome.
Stu: To sell the dead weight in the squad and invest in a top defender and goalkeeper. For all the progress we are making, if we want to take that next step to become serious title contenders we won't do it with our current centre-backs or with that dodgy keeper. If Thiago Silva stayed one more season I honestly believe we'd be top or much closer to Liverpool.
Dennis: Sell Axel Disasi or give him out for free.
Tony: Let's get the new stadium sorted this year, fed up of not being able to get tickets for a Premier League game. If we sell out every game in 30 minutes, look at the revenue we miss out on every week.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham have joined Manchester United and Manchester City in showing interest in Barcelona's 26-year-old forward Dani Olmo. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external
Barcelona could make a loan move for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku if they fail to register Olmo for the second half of the season. (Caught Offside), external
Olmo, however, wants to stay at Barcelona, despite uncertainty over his registration. (Fabrizio Romano, via GiveMeSport), external
Elsewhere, Chelsea are willing to sell 21-year-old midfielder Cesare Casadei, who has attracted interest from Italian side Torino. (Talksport, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your thoughts after Monday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Chelsea.
Here are some of your comments:
Ipswich fans:
Chris: So pleased for Town. Would've killed to be inside Portman Road tonight. Funny how replacing Muric went hand in hand with a first home win. Come on Kieran, keep Walton as first choice for the remainder of the season!
Matt: My faith totally restored in Kieran the moment I saw that he had picked Walton at last. How many results would have been different this season if Walton had played? Fantastic performance from Town. This must give the lads the confidence that they can beat anyone on their day (apart from Liverpool maybe!). I think we can survive.
Chris: Hard-working, gritty and determined victory for the Tractor Boys. Delap was outstanding, and him and Hutchinson ran their socks off all night. Morsy immense in midfield and the defence really solid against a star-studded Chelsea attack. Kieran fully justified in bringing back Walton. The boys have to back this one up now and go to Fulham and get something. What a way to welcome in the New Year!
James: Ipswich produced an excellent team performance from back to front, and we were well worth the 2-0 victory. Kieran McKenna got the tactics spot on tonight, defending resiliently and blocking everything that came into the box before attacking with pace and power on the break. Christian Walton came in and was exemplary, with Liam Delap unplayable up top. By the end, Chelsea were chasing their tails and resorted to throwing themselves to the ground at every opportunity in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the game. All in all, a near-perfect night's work.
Chelsea fans:
Colin: Same again, poor passing, poor defending, poor attitude. They don't seem to play together. Try and pass to your own team-mates. Why try to walk the ball in? Attack quicker and create something. A dismal display again. It's hard to watch, they must do better.
David: Well enough of the title talk. Fernandez awful, Caicedo awful, defence slow and awful, Ipswich brilliant, Delap outstanding. Chelsea players need to look at themselves with their play acting. Maresca needs to look at his team management within the game and do something different when things don't go as planned. I think he dipped like this at Leicester about this time last year. This team needs confidence and at the moment they are devoid of any. Making the changes against Fulham was the catalyst for this.
Gary: Disappointing performances across the last three games. One point from nine over the holiday period is not good enough especially against two poor sides in Everton and Ipswich. However, the target is top four this season (68 points) so we're on schedule for that after 19 games. Let's hope the boss can reignite the fire again for the second round of games.
Chris: Looks like the bubble has burst, again. Maresca now has a major job, he needs to pick his best team and stick with it and stop chopping and changing! There is no Chelsea team that should ever include Disasi!
Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesAxel Disasi is facing criticism from the Chelsea fan base
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has done an excellent job since he joined the club in the summer, but one continued trend is frustrating supporters.
Axel Disasi, a giant central defender, keeps being selected to play at right-back.
The Frenchman was at fault for Omari Hutchinson's goal which clinched victory in a 2-0 win for Ipswich on Monday; while Liam Delap netted a penalty in the first half at Portman Road.
Like in his other matches at right-back, Disasi generally struggled with using the ball while on the flank and lacks the physical profile to get up and down the pitch.
There's a risk that these bad performances could have a longer-term impact on the former Monaco defender and damage his confidence.
And there's no coincidence that Disasi's best performance in the Premier League this season was against Southampton, the only time he played in his natural position.
Of course, Reece James was only fit enough for the bench and the Italian coach may have felt he could gamble by resting Malo Gusto.
But playing Disasi - and other centre-backs at right-back - is also blocking chances for youngster Josh Acheampong, who has excelled in his limited first team appearances.
The 18-year-old has just signed a new contract and has been given a permanent first-team locker at the training ground.
Utilising Disasi at right-back is causing Chelsea issues defensively and blocking a talented youngster's pathway.
Chelsea are eying 21-year-old Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap and 20-year-old Brighton forward Evan Ferguson, as they look to provide competition for first-choice striker Nicolas Jackson. (Talksport), external
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea boss Enzo Maresca speaking to BBC Sport: "Strange game in terms of creating many chances and we could've scored many but they saved goals on the line or great saves from the keeper.
"We could do many things better, defend better in some moments."
On penalty: "They said it's a bit soft but we have to accept it's a penalty.
"We made four changes from the last game because they all deserve to play. Now we've finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are. We are in a good position but we can do many things better. It's a long race.
"We had chances with Joao [Felix] and Noni [Madueke] so it's not about the striker. Sometimes you create chances and it doesn't go for you.
"We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things."
