Man City currently sit fourth in the table on 66 points, but they are just one point clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, and will welcome a Palace side who are not yet mathematically safe from relegation
Browsing: Crystal Palace
A ninth Premier League victory on the spin for Spurs will make certain of holding off the Gunners no matter what happens in the final month of the season, while also derailing their opponents’ bid to finish fourth
The Eagles will be without Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho after he was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury during the 1-0 midweek defeat to Tottenham
Liverpool, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four if the Manchester clubs win points in their games in hand
Tottenham next travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, a day after Chelsea host Southampton
Both sides have seen their fortunes take a turn for the better in recent weeks, heading into Sunday’s showdown on Merseyside as two of the most in-form teams in the division
It is the star match of the week
The result leaves Palace seven points clear of the relegation zone with six games remaining, while the Foxes are two points better off
Palace’s 3-0 win over Arsenal on Monday Night Football was their fifth Premier League victory in six games, and that run leaves them on 34 points – six above the relegation zone and with a game in hand over 18th-placed Swansea
The Frenchman faces increasing fan pressure after another thoroughly disappointing performance
It was the third home win for Crystal Palace
The Nigeria international was absent for the Blues’ shock 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend, three weeks after limping off the field against Manchester United
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Chelsea’s lead at the top of the English Premier League was cut to seven points after they suffered a shocking 1-2 home defeat
The Nigerian international is nursing a calf strain, which has seen forced him out of action
Antonio Conte’s side go into the game with a 10-point lead at the top of the table, but the Eagles will make the short trip to West London in good form themselves
Mourinho won the competition on three separate occasions with Chelsea and his team will enter the showpiece event as the favourites to overcome a Saints outfit competing in just their second ever League Cup final
The 31-year-old has made over 170 appearances since arriving in England in 2010, playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace as well as the Hornets
The Togo international was pictured by the club undergoing a medical and has agreed an 18-month contract
The Eagles, who had won only one of their previous 10 games coming into this tie, managed to get a foothold in the game midway through the half as Christian Benteke directed a header at Willy Caballero before the Belgian flicked Jordan Mutch’s cross just over the bar on 31 minutes
Crystal Palace will be without forwards Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako against Manchester City despite their Africa Cup of Nations campaigns coming to a premature end