Chelsea travel to Selhurst Park this afternoon to face London rivals Crystal Palace.
Chelsea plays away at Palace on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League for their first game of 2025. There’s no doubt that the Blues have some real pressure on their shoulders, too.
Enzo Maresca has seen his Chelsea side collect one point out of a possible nine as their form dipped during the festive period. Therefore, they go into this weekend sitting fourth in the league table, and any dreams of an unlikely title challenge have pretty much disappeared.
The Blues should expect a tough assignment this weekend because they were held to a 1-1 draw in the reverse meeting against Palace back in September.
Chelsea’s predicted XI versus Palace includes five changes from the team that suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Ipswich Town earlier this week.
- READ MORE: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca gives injury update on five players ahead of Crystal Palace game
Chelsea fans want Josh Acheampong to start
A selection of Chelsea supporters on social media agree that Josh Acheampong should come into their starting line-up for today’s trip to Palace.
The 18-year-old defender, who’s never started a Premier League game before, has become a member of the Blues first-team squad in recent weeks after a promotion from the academy. It would be a big call to throw him into the XI this weekend for a must-win game.
Ahead of the Palace fixture, one fan wrote: “Start Acheampong. Please win.”
Another claimed: “If somehow Josh Acheampong doesn’t start for Chelsea at right-back tomorrow. Then I’ve completely lost faith in Enzo Maresca, he claims to love the boy. Signed a long-term contract for a reason, he’s more than ready to help us out.”
One supporter posted: “I think we owe Josh Acheampong the start on Saturday. He is tall and physical and would be perfect to go into the back three if Maresca sends Cucurella so high.”
“I want to see Acheampong start tomorrow,” another said.
Should Josh Acheampong get Premier League minutes?
First and foremost, it was a huge relief when Acheampong committed his future to Chelsea by signing a long-term deal last month. He was rewarded by getting a locker in the senior dressing room, along with fellow academy graduate Tyrique George.
Chelsea view Acheampong’s contract as a ‘statement of intent’, so will the rising star now be unleashed in the Premier League?
The teenage right-back, who can also play centre-half, enjoyed back-to-back starts in the Conference League group stages in December. He’s still waiting to force his way into the Premier League side, though.
Acheampong has been an unused substitute in the past four consecutive top-flight matches. So far, his only Premier League minutes came when he made his debut off the bench last season against Tottenham.
Now that Acheampong has been integrated into the main group, we’d like to see him get some opportunities to feature in the league, especially if Axel Disasi is deemed good enough to start games at right-back.
It seems most likely that Reece James or Malo Gusto will start at full-back against Palace, but a busy schedule should mean there’s the chance for Maresca to rotate.
Maresca told Acheampong he suits the Chelsea system when talks were ongoing over his new contract, so it should be a matter of time before he gets his chance in 2025.
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