Chelsea have recorded their 11th successive win in the Premier League by getting the better of Crystal Palace by a 1-0 scoreline.
A first-half header from Diego Costa proved to be the difference as the Blues moved nine points clear at the top of the table.
Palace had their moments in what was another solid performance but they could not force a way past Thibaut Courtois, who kept his third clean sheet in a row.
Read below to see how the action unfolded at Selhurst Park.
11.31amHello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match in the Premier League between Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
11.34amIt was only Wednesday night where we were signing off after yet another Chelsea victory in the Premier League but less than 72 hours later, we are back to bring you coverage of another fixture involving the Blues as they attempt to record what would be a remarkable 11th successive win in the league. Crystal Palace will have something to say about that, however. They may have lost out to Manchester United in midweek but they showed enough in that game to suggest that this encounter is no foregone conclusion.
11.38amAlan Pardew has described Chelsea as "unbeatable" in the build-up to this game but you have to feel that it is an attempt at mind games from the Eagles boss. Sure, Chelsea are flying right now but they had to work hard to see off both West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland. The Blues are known for their attacking flair but they have found the back of the net on just two occasions in 180 minutes and Pardew will recognise that his team have a chance to get at their opponents today, providing that they can produce their A-game in this London derby.
11.40amAnyway, without further ado, let's take a look at the team news. The leaders have made changes...
11.41amCRYSTAL PALACE XI: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Kelly, Zaha, Cabaye, McArthur, Ledley, Puncheon, Benteke
11.42amCRYSTAL PALACE SUBSTITUTES: Speroni, Fryers, Husin, Mutch, Lee, Townsend, Campbell
11.42amCHELSEA XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Willian, Diego Costa, Hazard.
11.43amCHELSEA SUBSTITUTES: Begovic, Ivanovic, Zouma, Chalobah, Fabregas, Pedro, Batshuayi
11.46amFirst of all, let's take a look at Chelsea, who have opted to make two alterations to the team which won at the Stadium of Light in midweek. To a certain degree, both are surprising with Nemanja Matic coming in for Wednesday's match-winner Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard replacing Pedro, rather than Willian. Once again, there's no Oscar on the substitutes' bench as he nears a switch to the Chinese Super League.
11.50amAs for Crystal Palace, Pardew is able to hand a start to Jason Puncheon after he served a suspension in midweek, while Joe Ledley has been drafted into the team as a replacement for Mathieu Flamini, who drops to the bench after making his first start in a while on Wednesday night. Andros Townsend remains among the replacements for Palace.
11.54amHEAD TO HEAD! You would assume that Crystal Palace and Chelsea have a storied history but they don't. This will be just the 49th meeting between the two London outfits, with Palace winning just 10 in comparison to 23 victories for Chelsea. The Blues have won eight of the last 10 matches but Palace's two victories have come in their last five encounters. There hasn't been a draw between the clubs since March 1995.
11.56amIt shouldn't pose too much of a problem but there's a bit of fog still lingering at Selhurst Park. I'm sure it will disperse as we go into the afternoon but there's a murky look at the ground right now.
12.01pmWe've already mentioned what a win for Chelsea would do for their league status but what about Crystal Palace? Despite their indifferent form this season, Palace remain three points above the relegation zone and victory here would take them to the lofty heights of 13th position, which wouldn't be bad for a team which lost six games in a row earlier this season!
12.04pmThe mist doesn't appear to be all that bad now. It's still lingering above the players but visibility isn't going to be an issue.
Half an hour to go... #CRYCHE https://t.co/GZar40e040
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 17, 2016
12.08pmGiven the amount of clubs that he has had during the first part of his career, it's easy to forget that Chelsea wing-back Victor Moses began his career with Crystal Palace. Moses made a total of 69 appearances for the Eagles between 2007 and 2010 before sealing a £2.5m switch to Wigan Athletic. Without doing the research, I'm sure he has already returned to Palace in an opposition shirt but this will be the first time where the supporters can say that their former academy star had done good. He's been used from the start or as a substitute in all but one of Chelsea's Premier League games this season.
12.13pmMoses will come up against either, or both, or Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon this afternoon and it's likely to be a tricky afternoon for the Nigerian. Pardew has acknowledged that things are finally clicking with Zaha after a couple of inconsistent campaigns while the work-rate of Puncheon is currently getting him the nod over Andros Townsend, who is currently falling short after his move from Newcastle United during the summer. Palace are well stocked on the wings and they are likely to try to exploit the space behind Moses today and Marcos Alonso today.
12.17pmIt's worth checking our Stat Centre before this game gets underway in less than 15 minutes time. We all know that Chelsea top the majority of sections but Palace pop up in some unexpected positions - some favourably and some not so favourably. Check it out!
12.24pmPREDICTION! Until Chelsea show any kind of weakness, we are obliged to back them - sorry, Palace supporters. We do think, however, that this will be Chelsea's hardest match for a couple of weeks and we looking forward to the battle behind Benteke and David Luiz. That said, Chelsea have far too much firepower and we think they will run out 3-1 winners.
12.27pmIt's time for the two teams to make their way out at Selhurst Park. The conditions may be dull but the atmosphere isn't. Palace look well up for this one and they are going to need to be.
1 minChelsea get us underway.
4 minThe home side have put a lot of work into these early stages. Of course, you wouldn't expect anything less from a Premier League side but it's noticeable that Chelsea are much more reserved than their hosts. We've have to see whether that helps them later in the contest.
6 minWe've not seen a whole lot of Costa and Hazard so far. Costa's only contribution is being caught offside and Hazard was just out-muscled by Zaha before conceding a foul.
9 minChelsea have had a bit more possession over the last few minutes but like at Sunderland in midweek, the crosses and little flicks aren't paying off. It's keeping Palace on the back foot, though, so I'm sure Conte is pleased enough.
13 minKante's had a lucky escape here. He lost possession in the middle of the pitch before deliberately stopping the counter-attack but rather than dish out a caution, the referee decides just to talk to him. Bizarre decision. It must be something about Selhurst Park - we witnessed plenty of them on Wednesday night.
16 minWe've just seen Cahill pop up on the left wing and turn Zaha - that's how much Chelsea are pushing right now. Again though, it's all about possession rather than pulling the trigger in and around the penalty area.
17 minBOOKING! Well that's a definite booking. An excellent Chelsea move ends with a superb piece of skill from Hazard on the edge of the area and he is stopped in his tracks by Ward. It's free kick no more than 22, 23 yards from goal.
18 minSHOT! I'm not sure what happened there. It must have been a mis-kick from Luiz. His effort ended up being low and deflecting off a defender for a corner. He looks bemused.
20 minCHANCE! Big chance for Crystal Palace. Cabaye sprays the ball out to the right where Kelly is waiting, His low cross finds the run of Puncheon but he fails to make a proper connection from 12 yards and his shot goes a yard or two wide.
22 minBOOKING! Diego Costa's good behaviour comes to an end. The striker is booked for a hack at a Palace player and he can have no complaints. He will be suspended for the Boxing Day match with Bournemouth.
26 minZaha loses possession to Hazard and he ends up fouling the Belgian as he starts to advance on goal. Another threatening free kick coming up for the Blues...
28 minThe set piece is headed clear but the talking point comes from McArthur and Zaha arguing in the wall. It appears that Zaha doesn't fancy being part of a three-man shield and he is told in no uncertain terms to link arms by McArthur.
32 minThis is the third game in succession where we haven't seen many chances during the first 30 minutes of a game involving Chelsea. Whether teams are making a special effort to remain in games or not, I'm not sure, but Chelsea don't look the least bit phased. They are going about their business as normal and probing for that opening.
36 minBenteke is being smart and positioning himself next to Azpilicueta when long balls are floated into the final third and he is starting to win fouls off the defender. The latest set piece comes to nothing but it appears to be a target for Palace.
37 minSHOT! Moments later, Azpilicueta finds himself up the other end of the pitch in a shooting position but his 25-yard strike is sliced well wide of Hennessey's post.
38 minCHANCE! Crosses from Kelly are causing problems for Chelsea and this one inparticular finds the head of McArthur, who meets the ball ahead of Luiz, However, he can only direct it wide of Courtois's post.
40 minSHOT! Palace win a free kick around 20 yards from goal and Puncheon manages to pull rank over Cabaye. It's a decent effort from the winger but his shot towards the right corner goes a couple of yards over the crossbar.
43 minGOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea (Costa)
43 minChelsea take the lead and it's that man Costa yet again! He's not done much in this game - apart from get booked - but he is able to rise above Dann in order to meet an Azpilicueta cross and his header from eight yards out finds the bottom corner. That's his 50th goal for Chelsea, they have come in 97 appearances.
45 minThere will be two minutes of added-on time.
45+2 minHALF TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
1.19pmThe half-time whistle goes at Selhurst Park and Chelsea lead thanks to that header from Costa. Palace have had the better of the chances - although there hasn't been that many - but it's Chelsea who move into the break with a slender advantage.
1.32pmThe teams are making their way back out for the second half. The only change is in the conditions, where the mist seems to be a little higher than it was during the opening 45 minutes.
46 minWe are back underway.
47 minSHOT! Like the first half, Palace haven't hung about with showing their intent. Cabaye receives the ball around 30 yards from goal and he soon decides to test Courtois, who must dive to his left to smother a well-struck effort before claiming it at the second opportunity.
50 minSHOT! He's not known for his shooting but Kante lets fly from 25 yards with a venomous strike which Hennessey finds too hot to handle. Fortunately for the Welsh stopper, one of his defenders are able to clear the danger.
53 minThis is developing into a good scrap. Palace need to throw a bit more caution to the wind but they are doing it in such a way that Chelsea are having to respect their quality going forward.
55 minPalace are continuing to have much more of the ball and Chelsea have just had to defend a free kick and a corner. The ball was being hit into the box thick and fast now.
58 minChelsea literally have every player back in their own half. They aren't coming under the cosh from Palace but Conte recognises that this is an important period of the game.
60 minBOOKING! Kante finally goes into the book for a foul. It means he will also miss the game with Bournemouth.
64 minSUBSTITUTION! Conte has seen enough and it's time to introduce Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard will replace Willian, just moments after the Brazilian played his part in fashioning a chance for Moses which was blocked.
67 minSHOT! Credit to Chelsea - they have regained control of the ball over the past five minutes. They are frequently looking to switch play from flank to flank and the play is starting to open up. A cross from Moses is deflected into the path of Alonso but his left-footed volley goes into the side-netting.
69 minCHANCE! Another fine Chelsea move ends with Hazard cutting the ball back to Fabregas but a combination of it being on his left foot and pressure from a defender means he doesn't connect sweetly and Hennessey makes the easy save.
71 minCHANCE! That would have been a sensational goal from Benteke. A floated cross finds the Belgian, who gets the better of Cahill to chest the ball down. However, he scuffs his volley and Courtois claims.
72 minCHANCE! Hennessey keeps Palace in this game. Hazard and Moses combine to set up Kante, whose shot seems destined for the bottom corner. However, Hennessey sticks out a hand to prevent the Blues doubling their advantage.
74 minSHOT! Hennessey makes yet another save to keep Palace in this match. A sweeping move from the Blues ends with Alonso drilling a shot towards the far corner but the Welsh stopper parries the ball away from goal.
77 minSUBSTITUTION! It's time for Andros Townsend to replace Puncheon. The change was going to be made about eight minutes ago but Puncheon got a second chance and didn't take it.
79 minSUBSTITUTION! Chelsea now move to replace Moses with Branislav Ivanovic. The former Eagles player gets a warm reception from the home supporters. Palace have introduced Fraizer Campbell for Cabaye.
82 minBOOKING! This booking had been coming for Delaney, who dives into a tackle with Hazard to prevent the Belgian running clear on goal.
84 minWOODWORK! What a strike from Alonso! The left-sided player takes responsibility for the set piece over Luiz and his curling effort hits the underside of the crossbar.
88 minPalace are pushing players forward in search of an equaliser but Chelsea remain resolute at the back. They are going to be made to work during these final minutes.
89 minSUBSTITUTION! Conte makes his final change, bringing on Michy Batshuayi for Costa.
90 minThere will be five minutes of added-on time.
90+2 minBOOKING! Delaney wins a free kick for Palace around 30 yards from goal after drawing the foul out of Fabregas, who is booked.
90+3 minSHOT! Townsend's fancies this but his free kick is sent about 15 yards over the crossbar.
90+5 minFULL TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
2.28pmThe full-time whistle goes at Selhurst Park and Chelsea have recorded yet another victory in the Premier League - their 11th in a row. Costa's first-half header did the damage and it extends what is fast becoming a remarkable run of results in this era of England's top flight. Chelsea now sit nine points clear of the chasing pack.
2.28pmThat will be all from Sports Mole for this game. Thank you for joining us and we hope that you can stick around for the fixtures which are taking place during the rest of the day. Goodbye for now.
