Chelsea kick off their 2025-26 Premier League season with a London derby against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

The Blues enter the new season as reigning Club World Cup champions after a successful campaign, which saw them overcome Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final.

Chelsea have also worked to bolster their ranks with acquisitions such as Jamie Gittens, Estevao, and Jorrel Hato, who could all be in line to make their competitive debuts.

Joao Pedro is another new name at Stamford Bridge. The Brazilian forward has scored in all but one of his appearances thus far for the club, having sealed a move from Brighton earlier in the window.

Speaking in a recent interview with the West Londoners, he said: "I think everyone is fresh now and ready for the next season.

"Everyone said I looked like I've been here for a long time already. The beginning was very good, but I need to keep working hard to improve always. I need to work hard, help the team, help the club to achieve our objectives.

"I need to look forward to this season. I'm very excited because I can see we have a strong group, and I think we can achieve a lot of things by the end of the season."

Palace enter this season fresh from winning the FA Cup and Community Shield, in which they beat Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively, in two historic days at Wembley.

This summer has not been all plain sailing for Oliver Glasner's side, though, having also faced off-field challenges with a demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League due to ownership rules.

Palace have added just two new arrivals, in Walter Benitez and Borna Sosa, with their key battle being the need to keep Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi amid transfer speculation.

But Glasner is confident his side can pose a strong threat in the top-flight this term.

"I think we proved it many times that we have this belief and this confidence," Glasner said. "It's just the start into the season, we also could see [against Liverpool] we have things to improve.

"But what I could see should give us confidence that we will play a good season. If we stay humble, if we keep working hard, these are the foundations where we build our game."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Joao Pedro

Not only did Joao Pedro sign for the Blues for a reported £60m, making him their 11th most-expensive signing of all time, but he then went on to find the back of the net in Maresca's side's Club World Cup final triumph.

He also registered a brace in the semi-final, proving he has settled into life at Stamford Bridge very quickly. 

Crystal Palace – Eberechi Eze

It is nigh-on impossible to overlook the talismanic Eze, who scored the decisive goal in the FA Cup, and arguably the biggest in Palace's history.

The England international continued his Wembley goalscoring spree against Liverpool in the Community Shield, and with 16 goal contributions (eight goals and eight assists) to his name last term, the 26-year-old is likely to hit the ground running. 

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Enzo Maresca's side are unbeaten in their last 15 league meetings with Palace, winning 13 and drawing two.

The Eagles' record at Stamford Bridge does not make for pretty viewing, having not won at the home of the Blues since 2017. Naturally, this unwanted record does not bode well for Palace, who have had the propensity to struggle in opening fixtures, losing three of their last four.

Chelsea ended last season in strong form, winning five of their final six league matches before going on to lift major silverware. 

While the Blues fell to an opening day defeat against Manchester City last season, they have not suffered back-to-back MD1 defeats since the late 1990s. 

The most recent Premier League meeting between the London rivals came in the 2024-25 season at Selhurst Park, ending in a 1-1 draw. Cole Palmer struck for Chelsea in the 14th minute, before Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised for Crystal Palace in the 82nd.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea – 57.7%

Draw – 21.6%

Crystal Palace – 20.7%