Crystal Palace vs Chelsea: N'Golo Kante fires Maurizio Sarri's side to victory

Re-live the action from Selhurst Park

Chelsea: A look back at 2018

N'Golo Kante earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace to boost the Blues' bid for a place in the Premier League's top four.

Kante, a World Cup winner with France last summer, has been deployed in a more advanced position on the right side of midfield by Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.

He netted his third Premier League goal of the season at Selhurst Park as Chelsea ended Palace's three-match unbeaten run to move five points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Willian and Ross Barkley had hit posts in quick succession in the first half and the hosts' performance showed little of the style and substance which had earned victory at Manchester City eight days earlier. Re-live the action below:

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[30 December 2018 11:08 · Ben Burrows]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Premier League.

There are four games this afternoon in what should be an action-packed slate of action. First up, Crystal Palace vs Chelsea. Team news for that one shortly.

Right, without further ado off we go.

[30 December 2018 11:11 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Team News

Here are the teams for today's early kick off at Selhurst Park:

[30 December 2018 11:25 · Callum Rice-Coates]

This is another difficult test for Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea. Their away form has been inconsistent of late - they were beaten at Tottenham and Wolves - and Crystal Palace are certain to disrupt them in the early stages.

It's a drab, uninspiring day in London, but the Blues come into this on the back of a crucial win at Watford. That will have given them confidence. A win this afternoon, after defeats for both Tottenham and Arsenal yesterday, would be a significant step towards a place in the top four.

Chelsea will be aware, though, that this won't be easy. A Wilfried Zaha-inspired Palace beat them at Selhurst Park last season, so complacency will need to be avoided.

[30 December 2018 11:30 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Changes

Palace make just the one change to their starting lineup: Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Max Meyer, perhaps an indication that Roy Hodgson intends to play in a more direct manner today.

For Chelsea, Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud come in for Mateo Kovacic and Pedro. 

[30 December 2018 11:44 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Palace, despite failing to beat Cardiff in their last home game, might be feeling quietly confident about today. Their stunning victory at Manchester City is still fresh in the memory, and Chelsea have certainly not been infallible in recent weeks. 

Results are still crucial for Palace, too. They remain just five points clear of 18th placed Fulham, and will want to pull away from the bottom three as soon as possible.

[30 December 2018 11:56 · Callum Rice-Coates]

  ↵Chelsea will be hopeful of an improvement on this particular record:

[30 December 2018 11:58 · Callum Rice-Coates]

The teams are out at Selhurst Park. Kick off is moments away...

[30 December 2018 12:02 · Callum Rice-Coates]

After an immaculate minute's silence, Chelsea get us going for the first half.

[30 December 2018 12:06 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Crystal Palace 0-0 Chelsea

3 minutes

It's been a slow opening to this one. Both sides are settling in, trying to get a foothold in the game. Chelsea have controlled possession and Palace have made clear their intention to sit back and soak up pressure.

[30 December 2018 12:08 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Crystal Palace 0-0 Chelsea

6 minutes

Chelsea are probing, playing some nice intricate football. But so far they have been met by a wall of Palace shirts. This is a pattern that looks like it might continue throughout.