View from the Opposition: New Chelsea boss Rosenior expecting "red hot" Selhurst

Match previews

24 Jan 2026

Crystal Palace take on a side with Liam Rosenior in the dugout for the second time this season, when welcoming Chelsea to Selhurst Park (Sunday, 14:00 GMT). Here's what the new Blues boss had to say about the fixture...

Factfile

Manager: Liam Rosenior
League Position: 6th
Ground: Stamford Bridge
Founded: 1905

In their manager's words...

In his pre-match press conference Chelsea head coach Rosenior insisted he wouldn't take the challenge of Palace lightly, despite the Eagles still looking for a first win of 2026: "What I know is they're an outstanding team," said the Chelsea head coach.

"Selhurst Park is, for me, one of the most difficult places to go. Look in the Premier League, you have to be ready for a physical battle.

"The atmosphere in the stadium's going to be red hot, so we're not taking a game lightly at all.

"I was fortunate enough to play against Crystal Palace early in the season. I know what a good team they are, and we're going to have to be very, very good to win again."

Chelsea have not won away from home in the Premier League since a 2-0 win at Burnley in mid-November. But according to Rosenior it isn't relevant to Sunday’s fixture.

"It's something that I'm not paying attention to," he said.

"I know that if this group of players perform in the manner that I expect them to, we have a great chance of winning any game against any team, and we just have to focus on that going into Crystal Palace."

Chelsea Team News

Cole Palmer missed the midweek Champions League win over Pafos, but could return to action against the Eagles.

Rosenior gave an update on the Mancunian attacking midfielder, plus updates on Enzo Fernandez, Jamie Gittens and Estevao, with the trio all having recently been affected by illness, at his pre-match press conference.

"In terms of sickness, the players hit by that are gradually coming back to full health,’ Rosenior explained.

"We’ve had to be very careful with that because Estevao was very ill, Jamie Gittens was very ill, and it altered our plans over the week in terms of what we wanted to do. Thankfully the lads have come through that, and so has Enzo as well.

"Cole [Palmer] is in a good place. He joined in training today, which is really positive and we will assess his reaction to training after the session."

However, goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen will miss out.

"Jorgensen has had his scan, and it was actually quite positive and not as bad as we first feared.

"He won’t be available for Palace this weekend, but he could potentially be okay for Napoli. Other than that, all is good."

Their Season So Far...

Life is certainly never dull at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca took the Blues to Conference League and Club World Cup glory in his first season in charge.

But after a turbulent end to 2025 he has now left the managerial hotseat – the fourth permanent boss to leave since BlueCo’s takeover in 2022 – replaced in the dugout by Liam Rosenior.

Chelsea were never going to have the smoothest pre-season, thanks to their extended summer exploits in America, which culminated in lifting the Club World Cup.

In the reverse game of today’s fixture on the opening day of the season, Chelsea had only had 13 days of preparation under their belts.

But the Blues still began with a four-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, which included a 5-1 thrashing of West Ham. Defeats against Manchester United and Brighton then dampened positive start, although the Blues were reduced to ten men in both games thanks to red cards.

Heading into December, Chelsea were third in the table, only six points behind leaders Arsenal. But patchy form throughout a busy period, not helped by ongoing speculation around Marseca’s situation, saw them fall out of the top four.

Some below-par defending in a 3-1 defeat at Leeds set the tone for the month, with the Blues going on a run of just one win from six games.

However, Rosenior has arrived with the team still in the mix for Champions League qualification and having progressed in the FA Cup with his first game in charge, a 5-1 win over Charlton.

In Europe, Chelsea produced arguably their best display of the season when seeing off Barcelona 3-0 at the Bridge, and a win in their final league phase game against next week Napoli should seal automatic qualification for the Round of 16.

The Boss: Liam Rosenior

The trip to Selhurst Park is Rosenior's first away Premier League game in charge of Chelsea. He was appointed Blues boss on January 6, signing a six-year contract.

Following a 17-year playing career, which included spells with Brighton, Hull City, Reading and Fulham in the Premier League, Rosenior retired at the end of the 2017/18 season.

His first role in coaching came with Brighton in August 2018, as the club's assistant manager for the Under-23 side. The next step was a variety of roles at Derby County, which included 12 matches as caretaker manager at the start of the 2022/23 season.

Rosenior's first permanent appointment as a boss was with Hull City. A popular figure on Humberside, he nearly guided the club to the Championship play-offs as they finished seventh.

Then in 2024/25, he moved to French side Strasbourg and oversaw a seventh-placed finish, which meant that the club secured qualification for this season's UEFA Conference League.

At the time of Rosenior's departure Strasbourg were seventh in the Ligue 1 table and had qualified for the knockout stage of the Conference League as league table winners, unbeaten across their six matches.

STAT ATTACK

Six of Palace’s last seven Premier League goals at Selhurst Park have been scored by Jean-Phillipe Mateta, and the other was a Nathan Collins own goal.
Every fixture between Palace and Chelsea during Oliver Glasner's reign as Manager has ended in a draw, a run of three games.

Match Details

Crystal Palace v Chelsea

Sunday, 25th January
14:00 GMT
Premier League
Selhurst Park
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+

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