Chelsea will look to improve on an awful end to 2024 when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in their first Premier League game of the new year on Saturday.

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After eight wins in a row following the November international break, Chelsea are now winless in three, including two devastating defeats to Fulham and Ipswich Town.

The Blues failed to break down Everton in their final game before Christmas, and have gone on to concede a 95th-minute winner to Fulham at Stamford Bridge, while also handing Ipswich their first win at Portman Road back in the top flight.

Manager Maresca claimed he was expecting results like this to happen eventually, and it probably will be fatal to their slim title chances, with Chelsea now down in fourth and 10 points behind Liverpool at the summit, having also played a game more.

The Ipswich performance in particular will be cause for concern, dominating possession and the amount of shots, but very rarely looking threatening, as the Tractor Boys ran out 2-0 winners.

After also failing to score at Everton, Chelsea are now in danger of going three straight league away games without a goal for the first time in almost six years, last doing so under their previous Italian manager Maurizio Sarri.

A defeat could also see them slip out of the top four, if Newcastle United are able to beat Tottenham Hotspur with a swing in the goal difference.

Being desperate for a return to form, Palace could be the ideal opponents for Chelsea, considering they have won on 12 of their 15 Premier League visits to Selhurst Park - the joint-highest win ratio any team has managed against another in the Premier League when making at least 10 trips.

A 1-1 draw between the two in September ended Chelsea's run of 14 consecutive victories in this fixture, but Palace have not avoided defeat in both games against the Blues in a season since before the Premier League era.

Palace have not been beaten by a club more often in the Premier League than Chelsea, going down on 24 previous occasions, but their recent form does provide hope that they can change that.

After losing five and winning none of their first eight league games this season, Oliver Glasner's side have now lost just two of their last 11.

However, those two defeats both came at home in London derbies (versus Fulham and Arsenal), which does not bode well ahead of this one.

A 2-1 win over Southampton last time out was just their second win in 10 home league games this season, with too many draws restricting their movement up the table, where they currently sit 15th, still only five points clear of trouble.

After this clash and their venture in the FA Cup, Palace will face out-of-form Leicester City, West Ham United, Manchester United and Everton, as well as notoriously poor travellers Brentford in their next five, so the upcoming weeks will be pivotal in the Eagles' season.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson