The full analysis of the historical clash between Chelsea and Crystal Palace London Derby

The Premier League opening match this Sunday, Chelsea will face its city rival Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Although the two teams are in London, the historical confrontation is full of drama - since their first encounter in 1906, the two sides did not meet in the top league until the late 1960s. Opta data shows that in 67 official matches, the Blues have an absolute advantage with 38 wins, 17 draws and 12 losses, especially in 2018 to 2024, setting a record of 13 consecutive victories, second only to Manchester City's 14 consecutive victories against Bournemouth. However, Crystal Palace tied its opponent twice last season, and remained unbeaten against Chelsea for the first time in a single season since the 1991-92 season. Mourinho and Conte's Crystal Palace created short-term glory, and they conquered Stamford Bridge in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. John Terry's own goal in 2014 directly shattered the Blues' hope for the championship, and this loss was rated as "the most strategic unpopular in the London Derby" by the Guardian. It is worth noting that Crystal Palace's four Premier League victory over Chelsea were completed by four different coaches - from Tony Pulis to Hodgson, it is worth observing whether the current coach Glasner can continue this tradition.

From the perspective of data depth, the confrontation between the two teams showed distinct characteristics of the times: the newly promoted Crystal Palace in the 1997-98 season suffered a 2-9 defeat in two rounds, while the Blues won 4-1 in the early Abu era and directly sent their opponents to be relegated. According to FBref statistics, Chelsea's average firepower of 2.3 goals in the past decade is far more than Crystal Palace's 0.8 goals. As the gap in strength between the two teams narrows after US capital takes over, this opening game may rewrite the power map of London football - after all, in the football world, the script of the derby battle is always full of variables.