Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Kurt Zouma tasked with replacing suspended John Terry as Pedro looks to maintain impressive start

A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge

(GETTY IMAGES)

It's a big game for…

Kurt Zouma: Given a rare start ahead of Gary Cahill in Chelsea’s win over West Brom, Zouma will keep his place in the starting line-up thanks to John Terry’s dismissal.

With questions being asked of the former England captain this season, Zouma has a chance a stake a claim for Terry’s once guaranteed position, but will need a strong display here to convince manager Jose Mourinho.

Best stat…

41: The number of Chelsea’s league games that have passed since John Terry last failed to feature in a Premier League starting line-up. The last time was against Cardiff City on the last day of the 2013/14 season.

Remember when…

Going all the way back to 1976 for this one, as then Third Division Palace knocked out Second Division Chelsea, thanks to a clever free-kick from Peter Taylor.

Player to watch…

Pedro: It will be the Spaniard’s first appearance in front of a home crowd since joining from Barcelona last week. Pedro didn’t wait around to make an impact however, as he both scored and provided an assist for Diego Costa on his debut to provide a much-needed boost for a Chelsea team who had started slowly. He will be expected to follow up with a similar performance against Palace.

Past three-meetings…

Chelsea 1 (Hazard) Crystal Palace 0, Premier League, May 2015

Crystal Palace 1 (Campbell) Chelsea 2 (Oscar, Fabregas), Premier League, October 2014

Crystal Palace 1 (Terry OG) Chelsea 0, Premier League, March 2014

Form guide…

Chelsea: LWLDLW

Crystal Palace: WWWLWD

Vital information…

KICK-OFF TIME: 15.00

TV: Highlights on BBC 1

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