Crystal Palace vs Chelsea match prediction: 11 wins in a row or will Palace finally end winning run?

Chelsea have been unstoppable since suffering a scathing 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in September, going on a ten-match winning run. With the three-man defence working to perfection and the attackers stepping up when needed, Antonio Conte's side are the new favourites for the Premier League title.

They will want to firm up that favourites tag with a win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. Here is a prediction of how the match might go.

First half: Crystal Palace start the match on the front foot, as Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon create chances for Christian Benteke. The first one, a header from a right-wing cross from Zaha, is headed over by the former Liverpool man, with Benteke failing to make proper contact with his second effort after being put through by Puncheon.

Chelsea wake up after those opportunities, and Cesc Fabregas, who keeps his place from Nemanja Matic, nearly opens up the Crystal Palace defence, as he plays a ball over the top for Diego Costa. However, Scott Dann recovers to make a crucial tackle. Costa, though, is in the mood now, constantly harassing the Palace defenders and that pressure finally pays off in the 25^th minute, when the Spaniard steals the ball inside the home team's half, before laying a pass onto Pedro, who then cuts the ball to Willian, still in the starting XI, with Eden Hazard not risked, for a simple tap-in.

With the Chelsea defence being as strong as it is, the game looks over, only for Palace to make it come alive again as Benteke, at the third time of asking, thumps a header home off a corner. The teams go into halftime 1-1.

Second half: Crystal Palace again make a strong start, but the goal that would give them the lead does not come. James McArthur tests goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with an effort from distance, while Zaha comes close as well with a shot from an angle that goes over the bar.

At the other end, Costa is struggling to get into the game in the second 45 and is cutting a frustrated figure. Already on a yellow card and having been warned for protesting by the referee, Conte decides to bring his striker off, much to the Spain international's annoyance, for Hazard. The Belgian nearly makes an immediate impact, using his fresh legs to drive at the Palace defence, but his low curling shot goes just a tad wide of the post.

Both teams trade a couple more chances as time winds down, with the match ending 1-1, leaving Chelsea still unbeaten since September, but without all three points for the first time in 11 matches.