Watch Crystal Palace vs Chelsea live striming as the Blues look to continue their recent upturn when they visit Sellhurst Park on January 3, 2016.
When John Terry lifted the Premier League title aloft in May 2015, few would have envisioned Chelsea being in their current predicament on the opening day of 2016.
Only three points separate the Blues from the relegation zone following a campaign that has been fraught with trouble on and off the field.
The club’s beloved Jose Mourinho was sent packing as a result, but interim boss Guus Hiddink is still looking for his first win in charge of the team.
The Dutchman watched from the stands as Chelsea began the post-Mourinho era with victory over Sunderland, but since then they have recorded back-to-back draws against Watford and Manchester United respectively.
The latter was greeted with celebrations by the Chelsea players as they made it three league games unbeaten for the first time this season, but it is still only one win in their last six and two in the last 10 for the defending champions.
Indeed, with the exception of a 2-0 victory over nine-man Arsenal in September, Chelsea have only beaten teams in the bottom eight so far this season and are yet to record consecutive wins in the league.
The point at Old Trafford in their final game of 2015 was just their sixth on the road all season – only bottom two Aston Villa and Sunderland have amassed fewer away from home, where Chelsea have not won for seven matches in a run dating back to August.
It is their longest winless run away from home since the 2000-01 season, and perhaps an even bigger concern will be that they have scored only twice in their last five on the road.
They have scored just seven goals in their last eight Premier League London derbies too, although their record at the other end against fellow sides from the capital is an impressive one with eight clean sheets in their last 11.
Hiddink has been beaten in an away Premier League London derby before, however, with a 1-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur in March 2009 handing the interim boss his only defeat in 24 matches at the helm of Chelsea over two spells.
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