Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Wolves on Christmas Day means Mauricio Pochettino and his under-fire squad are under the microscope once again heading into Wednesday's London derby against Crystal Palace.
Palace are winless in seven matches but have drawn three during that time and, as their comeback from 2-0 down at Manchester City showed, Roy Hodgson's men relish bloodying the nose of the so-called big boys in the Premier League.
Both teams are nursing considerable injury lists, potentially making this London derby even more unpredictable than such fixtures tend to be.
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Humiliating setbacks such as the one Chelsea suffered at Wolves have served to distract from the fact Pochettino's team are in rather good form at Stamford Bridge. They are unbeaten in five across all competitions at home, with the two draws in that period being the coruscating 4-4 thriller with Manchester City and the Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle that the Blues won on penalties.
Palace have only won once in the Premier League since the end of September, with that success coming against relegation-haunted Burnley. Hodgson's side have performed creditably in recent encounters against Liverpool, City and Brighton, drawing the most recent two.
However, their injury list remains hefty and they got through an awful lot of work without the ball. A Chelsea team with a point to prove might be getting them at the right time.
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