Chelsea hosts Crystal Palace today at 4 PM at Stamford Bridge in the opening round of the 2025-2026 English Premier League season. Chelsea, led by coach Enzo Marisca, enters the match in high spirits after an exceptional year that restored the club’s lost glory by winning the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup held in the USA with 32 teams, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final. Chelsea also won the UEFA Europa Conference League last May, becoming the English club with the most titles in the 21st century with 21 trophies, surpassing Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool. Chelsea aims to start strong against Crystal Palace to confirm its competitiveness for the Premier League title after missing out on domestic trophies in recent years. Chelsea was the last team to win the Premier League before the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool in 2017, finishing fourth last season, 15 points behind Liverpool.

Chelsea’s summer transfer market focused on promising young talents, notably Brazilian Joao Pedro, who made an immediate impact by scoring three goals in three matches during the Club World Cup after transferring from Brighton for £55 million. Crystal Palace is equally ambitious after surprising everyone by winning the 2025 FA Community Shield against Liverpool on penalties 3-2 at Wembley last week, raising expectations among ‘The Eagles’ fans who see their team as a contender capable of troubling the big clubs this season. Historically, Chelsea has dominated Crystal Palace in recent years, winning 33 of their 55 previous encounters, with Crystal Palace winning 14 and 8 draws. Chelsea players scored 103 goals against Palace while conceding 50. Liverpool and Manchester United share the top spot for the most English Premier League titles with 20 each, Arsenal is second with 13 titles, Manchester City fourth with 10, followed by Everton with 9 titles.