Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. The defending champions are in desperate need of a boost after losing four of their last five top-flight matches, leaving them in fifth place and five points outside of the Champions League spots heading into this London derby showdown.

It is a big afternoon at both ends of the table, in fact, as Palace are now inside the bottom three of the division after losing three matches in a row. The Eagles have gradually slipped down the division over the past month or so and need to get out of this rut as soon as possible, with the games fast ticking down. Roy Hodgson has done a good job at Selhurst Park on the whole, and he will not want the mark of a relegation on his lengthy CV.

CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill; Zappacosta, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Giroud, Hazard

SUBS: Caballero, Ampadu, Bakayoko, Emerson, Moses, Pedro, Morata

Starting with a look at the home team, Antonio Conte has opted to go with a recognised striker in Olivier Giroud following his failed experiment using a false nine. Alvaro Morata, overlooked again from the off, has gone massively off the boil following an impressive enough start to life in West London, failing to score in any of his last 11 matches overall, though seven of those have come from the bench.

Conte is also boosted by the return of N'Golo Kante to central midfield following his recent health scare. The Frenchman collapsed in training last Friday and was ruled out of the meeting with Manchester City as a precaution but, having been given the green light to resume training at the start of the week, he is among the starters today. Kante comes in as one of four changes to the Blues' starting lineup from the 1-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium.

Captain Gary Cahill is reinstated in the three-man backline alongside Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen. The aforementioned Giroud and Kante also come in, as does Davide Zappacosta at wing-back. Pedro and Victor Moses both drop down to the bench, while Danny Drinkwater and Antonio Rudiger are not involved at all this afternoon. Ross Barkley is the other squad absentee, but Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ethan Ampadu are at least among the subs.

CRYSTAL PALACE TEAM NEWS!

STARTING XI: Hennessey; Van Aanholt, Tomkins, Kelly, Wan-Bissaka; Schlupp, Milivojevic, McArthur, Townsend; Sorloth, Benteke

SUBS: Cavalieri, Souare, Fosu-Mensah, Sakho, Riedewald, Lee, Zaha

In terms of the visitors, Roy Hodgson has been given a boost of sorts as Mamadou Sakho and Wilfried Zaha are both back among the subs. Hodgson described Zaha's recover as a "miracle", as he could well be back involved today just a month or so after picking up an injury that it was initially feared could keep him out until April. Sakho, too, is a vital player for the Eagles and will be eased back into action.

A couple of changes on the bench, but Hodgson has opted to go with the same XI that came so close to taking points off Manchester United on Monday night. That means Christian Benteke, desperately in need of some goals, is joined up top by Alexander Sorloth in a 4-4-2 formation. Crosses from wide will be provided by Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp, while Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur add some guile in the centre.

There is also a place on the bench for Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who was absent against parent club Man United last time out due to the terms of his loan agreement. Palace have nearly a full starting lineup of players still on the sidelines, most notably creative midfielder Yohan Cabaye. Hodgson will hope that the return of Zaha will be enough to get his side back on track, though, with the flyer expected to play a part from the bench.

Roy Hodgson has gone with an unchanged starting lineup on the banck of Monday night's desperately unlucky 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, sticking with Alexander Sorloth and Christian Benteke up top. The home side show four alterations from the 1-0 defeat at Manchester City, meanwhile, with N'Golo Kante among those to be restored.

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Chelsea head into this match sitting fifth in the table, five points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur who are in action at Bournemouth tomorrow afternoon. Following the meeting between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier today, the defending champions now find themselves seven points adrift of the Reds - beaten 2-1 in that lunchtime kickoff - and 12 off United in second.

Retaining their title has long been out of the question for Conte and his players; finishing second now also looks to be out of reach, too, as United have built up that 12-point lead. More worryingly for the Blues, they are out risk of missing out on a place in the Champions League for the second time in three years, which will surely spell the end for their Italian manager.

That said, Conte still has the FA Cup and this season's Champions League to save his second campaign at Stamford Bridge. This is a particularly important week for the former Juventus and Italy national team coach, as Chelsea follow up this Premier League match with a trip to Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 and then Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The Blues have a three-week gap between league games after this, with Tottenham Hotspur up next here at the end of the month once the final international break of the season has passed. The only other fixture against a top-six club left to face after that is on the penultimate matchday when facing Liverpool - another potentially huge match in the race for a top-four finish.

Chelsea have lost four of their last five games in the Premier League, including back-to-back one-goal defeats against Manchester United and Manchester City. They have won just once since January 10, in fact; that coming against the division's bottom-placed side in West Bromwich Albion. Going further back, it is four wins from 15 matches since the turn of the year - a pretty dreadful return.

There have been six draws and five defeats in that barren spell, though it is worth remembering that Conte could still technically end his second campaign at the club with a European and domestic double - do that and he will pretty much go down in folklore. Owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly already in the process of scouting potential replacements, but for now Conte remains.

Chelsea have lost four of their last five Premier League games; as many as they managed in their previous 30. At home it is 12 wins and one defeat in 19 matches overall, though, and they have kept five clean sheets in their last six Premier League outings here. The shock 3-0 loss to Bournemouth is still fresh in the memory, however, offering plenty of encouragement - if any were needed - for today's visitors.

DID YOU KNOW? Eden Hazard has scored 68 Premier League goals for Chelsea, leaving him just one short of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Only Frank Lampard (147) and Didier Drogba (104) have scored more than the Belgian in the famous blue strip. In terms of the 2017-18 campaign, Hazard has scored 11 and set up three more in the top flight.

Antonio Conte has had a trickier second season at Chelsea compared to his first, with his side outside the top four as we enter the final stretch of the campaign. This is a huge week for the Italian, as his side have three matches in eight days across three different competitions, starting with this Premier League visit of London rivals Crystal Palace.

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PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Chelsea have lost their last two Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace - they last lost three or more consecutive matches against a single opponent between 2010 and 2012 (vs. Liverpool). The Eagles have won back-to-back matches at Stamford Bridge, too, after failing to win any of their first 13 top-flight visits to this part of West London, losing eight of those.

Chelsea have not lost three successive London derbies against the same opponent in the top flight since 1974 (vs. Arsenal), which they will be hoping to avoid this afternoon. This is not the first meeting between managers Roy Hodgson and Antonio Conte, meanwhile, as they came face-to-face in an international friendly two years ago this month when in charge of England and Italy respectively.

Following the conclusion of the five 3pm kickoffs in the Premier League, Palace remain inside the bottom three and a point adrift of Southampton in 17th. A third victory on the bounce for the Eagles at Stamford Bridge will lift them two places, as West Ham United suffered a heavy loss at home to Burnley today and are deep in relegation trouble now. Still incredibly tight at the bottom, with six points between Stoke City in 19th and Bournemouth in 12th.

Palace have lost their last three matches to Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United although, as pointed out by opposition manager Conte in his pre-match presser, the Toffees have been desperately unlucky in the last two of those. Harry Kane scored a last-gasp winner for Spurs and Nemanja Matic blasted the ball past Wayne Hennessey in added time for United five days ago.

It must be remembered that Palace led by two goals in that meeting with United, only to crumble and come away with nothing to show for their efforts. Hodgson knows that a similar sort of effort today will likely be enough for his side to earn at least a draw, however, and every point makes a world of difference right now. The Eagles have also gone down 4-1 to Arsenal and drawn 1-1 with Newcastle and West Ham during their six-game winless run.

The winless run stretches back to Palace's 1-0 win over Burnley in the middle of January, which had them looking up at the top half of the division. Due to the tight nature of things, it is not inconceivable that Palace may yet end in the higher reaches of the bottom half, but right now Hodgson will settle for 17th place come the final kick of the campaign. With nine games to go, time is not on his side.

It is just two wins from 12 in all competitions since mid-December, meanwhile, and Palace do still have Liverpool to face this month. The Eagles have seven winnable fixtures from their last nine, though, and if they can remain within a point of the side directly above them come April, Hodgson will be confident of guiding his side to safety. That is why a point will be seen as a great return from this fixture.

Palace have conceded 15 goals during their six-game winless run, and have shipped 46 overall for the season. Just five clean sheets have been kept in 2017-18, most recently against Burnley seven games ago. Again, though, it is worth remember that the Eagles started the season with seven-straight defeats without scoring, prior to earning a shock victory over Chelsea in the reverse fixture five months ago.

The Eagles have found the net in each of their last six away games, having started without a goal in their opening eight on the road. The improvements have been clear to see under Hodgson, then, yet still Palace find themselves in the dropzone as we enter the final straight. Getting Zaha back could act as a turning point, having lost all nine Premier League games without him in the side this term, scoring three and conceding 21.

With kickoff in West London now just a couple of minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.

Antonio Conte: "Palace have lost the last couple of games. They deserved more against Tottenham and against United. We must pay great attention. We need to have a good performance, to get three points. We're playing against a really good team, with talented players."

Roy Hodgson: "Normally when you come against a team not having the best of times, that can be a very dangerous time to play them. They have fantastic players and are a brilliantly run club, a powerful club. We can only hope that we can reproduce the recent performances against similar opponents."

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KICKOFF! We are up and running at Stamford Bridge in this Saturday teatime fixture. Two London rivals in desperate need of Premier League points locking horns - fingers crossed for an entertaining contest.

Kante barges into McArthur to concede a free kick, but Chelsea's intent clear from the off. Conte wants his players to push high and get into their opponents' faces, perhaps learning from those back-to-back defeats in this fixture.

First sight of goal for Giroud, who gets his head to Zappacosta's right-sided cross. Certainly not an easy one, and the Frenchman failed to make the desired contact as the ball ended wide of Hennessey's target. The hosts bossing possession.

Some good running from McArthur to earn Palace a first corner kick of the contest. Sorloth and Benteke the obvious targets in the middle, and it was the latter who got to the ball first. Could not make the most of the header, though.

SAVE! That was a half-decent chance for Benteke, who just could not time his leap correctly. Palace need to make the most of those openings from set pieces if they are to leave here with a point or more. Giroud turns Kante's shot on target, but it is hit right at Hennessey.

SHOT! Zappacosta being given far too much space down Chelsea's right, so much so that he decides to cut inside and fire a shot away. A sea of bodies in the way and Palace were able to clear their lines. Willian's shot then stopped by Hennessey - it may have been going wide, regardless.

CLOSE! This is a brilliant attempt from Townsend, who tries sweeping the ball over Courtois from the edge of the box. Awkward technique but he so nearly pulled it off, with the ball looping on to the roof of the opposition net.

Wan-Bissaka has looked impressive since breaking into Palace's first team, and he has produced a fine block here to keep out Alonso's attempted cross. It is through Zappacosta down the other flank that Chelsea are having most joy.

Seventeen minutes into the match and, while Chelsea have seen more of the ball, there has not been a great deal between the two sides so far. The closest we have come to a goal, in fact, was through that Townsend attempt a couple of minutes ago.

SAVE! Hennessey has had a few stops to make in the opening quarter of the game, but he has not exactly broken into a sweat in keeping them out. Willian with the latest shot, which was pretty much right down the middle from 20 yards.

Wan-Bissaka with another good block to prevent Alonso getting the ball into the area. Palace have defended well so far and, the longest this goes on, the more frustrated Chelsea's attacking players will grow. Three-quarters of the match still to be played, mind!

Bit of a quiet spell in the game over the past couple of minutes; Chelsea unable to find any real momentum, despite seeing plenty of the ball. Van Aanholt is receiving some treatment at the moment - he looks as though he will be fine to continue.

Willian never needs a second invitation to take on a shot from range, with this latest curler from more than 25 yards out sailing over Hennessey's crossbar. Hodgson will be delighted with the way the first 25 minutes have panned out here.

From his fourth or fifth attempt of the evening, Willian this time gets a bit of luck to open the scoring for Chelsea. The Brazilian cut inside Luka Milivojevic and Andros Townsend and sent a deflected shot past Wayne Hennessey. The touch from Martin Kelly took it beyond the Welsh keeper.

Good link-up play between Benteke and Sorloth in the opposition box, culminating in the latter sending a shot curling over the bar. Palace's gameplan has now gone out of the window; they have to start getting the ball forward a little more.

Chelsea not really looking likely to add to their advantage at the moment, happy to play the game at their own pace. Blues boss Conte will be glad to have found a way through the packed Palace backline fairly early on in the match.

When your luck is out, your luck is out! A pretty incredible own goal, as Zappacosta's shot was cleared off the line by Kelly, only to hit Hennessey on the back and then ricochet back off the defender and over the line for an own goal.

Kelly playing a key part in both of Chelsea's goals, putting the Blues well on course for a much-needed win. A case of remaining professional now and seeing the job through. Palace, on the other hand, need to find some inspiration from somewhere.

Zappacosta with a cross towards the back post, where Giroud was waiting to knock it back into the middle. All very simple for the Blues at the moment; Palace could do with that half-time whistle around about now as they are at risk of conceding a third.

Palace youngster Wan-Bissaka was caught out of position for the Blues' second goal, but he has otherwise performed quite well in this first half. Another block in front of goal, this time to send Alonso's shot behind for a corner kick.

An onslaught of Chelsea attacks since netting their second. A vital touch was required to prevent Willian getting a shot away, and from the corner Palace managed to stand strong. Three minutes of the first half left to play in West London.

A good spell of possession for Palace ends with Schlupp knocking the ball out of play when attempting to find a teammate. Hodgson, particularly upset by the nature of the first goal conceded, might be tempted to make a change at the interval.

OFF THE LINE! What an unbelievable goal this would have been. A intricate move culminated in Hazard slotting the ball through for Giroud, who was denied on the line by James Tomkins. From the next attack, Hazard converted from the rebound after Hennessey produced a smart save, but the offside flag was rightly up.

Visiting boss Hodgson will be happy that his side are only two behind at the break - it could well have been a bigger deficit. Willian opened the scoring for the Blues 25 minutes in, before doubling their lead through an unfortunate Martin Kelly own goal seven minutes later.

Wayne Hennessey was heavily involved early on, positioning himself well to keep out an attempt from Olivier Giroud and a couple from Willian. Brazilian forward Willian soon found his range, though, picking out the bottom corner via a telling touch from Martin Kelly to make it five goals in his last six games.

Palace had managed to net in six consecutive away outings heading into this match, and they so nearly extended that tally through Andros Towsend's sweeping finish from the edging of the box, picking out the roof of the opposition net. A second Chelsea goal seven minutes after their first gave them more breathing space, with Kelly once again the unfortunate man.

Eden Hazard worked the ball through for Davide Zappacosta to hit goalwards and, after initially doing well to clear off the line, Kelly saw the ball come back off Hennessey and then off his own leg and over the line. Chelsea used the remainder of the first half to attack at will, coming particularly close to netting a third 45 minutes in through Olivier Giroud, who could not beat James Tomkins on the line at the end of an impressive passing move.

Hazard, seeking the goal to take him level with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in Chelsea's all-time scorers list, also had one ruled out when rightly flagged for offside when converting from a close-range rebound before the interval. Having seen his side outclassed at times in the opening 45, will Roy Hodgson turn to his bench at the midway point?

CHELSEA SUBS: Cavalieri, Souare, Fosu-Mensah, Sakho, Riedewald, Lee, Zaha

CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Caballero, Ampadu, Bakayoko, Emerson, Moses, Pedro, Morata

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RESTART! We are back under way at Stamford Bridge, where there is news of a half-time change to bring you. Hodgson has taken off the ineffective Benteke and brought on fit-again winger Zaha, who marks his return to action after more than a month on the sidelines.

OFF THE POST! Chelsea caught sleeping at the start of the second half. Christensen loses possession and Sorloth has just Courtois to beat, but he can only pick out the post when he probably should have been going across Courtois.

Had that gone in the whole mood around Stamford Bridge would have changed drastically. As it is, the Blues will surely wake up following a slow start to the second half and go in search of a killer third. Big 40 minutes ahead here for both teams.

BLOCK! Superb block from James Tomkins, launching his body at the ball to keep out Willian's goalbound shot. The Brazilian forward at his best then, gliding through the opposition and getting on the end of Olivier Giroud's cutback.

Lively start to the second half, with both teams coming close to the game's third goal. It goes without saying really that the next goal, should it arrive, will be vital - 3-0 or 2-1. Zaha already making a difference for the visiting side.

SAVE! Defending champions Chelsea pretty desperate for that third goal now. Olivier Giroud is played through but cannot slot the ball past Hennessey; the Welsh keeper doing well to keep the ball out with his long legs.

That Giroud chance was as route one as you like: a Courtois punt forward, a slight touch from Hazard to help it on, and then the shot from Giroud which he should have converted from. As the hour approaches, Conte may be thinking of a change or two.

SAVE! Not the toughest of stops for Courtois to make, but a save nonetheless. Van Aanholt with a well controlled volley from the edge of the box, which the Belgian was able to grab with both hands. A very open game on our hands now.

YELLOW CARD! Van Aanholt is cautioned for taking out Eden Hazard. Further punishment could have followed from the free kick, but Wayne Hennessey dived across to his left to keep out Willian's attempt from 25 yards.

CHANCES! Chelsea just unable to kill this game off at the moment. Giroud is unable to keep his header on target at the front post, moments after Kelly blocked a shot from seven yards out. Palace having to dig deep here.

Conte holding off before making his first change of the evening. The Italian may be forced to turn to his bench now, though, as Willian has gone down holding his groin after colliding with Tomkins and has yet to get back to his feet.

YELLOW CARD! Willian has managed to shake off that knock and is playing on for now. Gary Cahill, book in the starting lineup this evening, is cautioned for swiping at the legs of Townsend. Chelsea's defenders having to work harder in this second half.

OFF THE POST! This second half has been pretty incredible. The ball simply will not go in the net; Giroud once again being left frustrated when firing his shot against the post once being picked out unmarked near the penalty spot.

Palace have had a couple of chances since the restart, but their opponents have had six or seven and really should be home and draw by now. An entertaining second half at Stamford Bridge for the neutral, as we enter the final 18 minutes.

CHELSEA SUB! Giroud with a little smile as his number appears on the fourth official's board - he does not know how he failed to score this evening. Alvaro Morata on in the Frenchman's place, seeking a first goal in 12 matches.

CRYSTAL PALACE SUB! Hodgson turns to his bench for the second time today, bringing on Riedewald for Schlupp for the final 15 minutes or so. Things just starting to quieten down a bit over the last four or five minutes.

Morata, desperate to find some form ahead of the midweek trip to Barcelona, gets a shot away which Hennessey is equal to. The match now beginning to peter out a little, with Palace perhaps realising it is not going to be their day.

That effort from Morata was Chelsea's 11th on target this evening. The Spaniard has another pop, this time seeing the ball deflect off an opponent and behind for a corner kick. Hazard then tried his luck but could only find the stands.

Wan-Bissaka has not had too many chances to attack, but he got forward a few moments ago and sent a cross into the box that was quite awkward for Courtois to deal with. Palace now the side enjoying some sustained pressure in the final third.

GOAL DISALLOWED! Here comes that third and final Palace change - Lee Chung-Yong taking over from Andros Townsend. Tomkins booked for shoving both Christensen and Alonso. Sorloth then powered the ball home but it was ruled out for a high boot.

CHELSEA SUB! Palace a little hard done by with that decision to rule the goal out. A high boot in the build-up, but Riedewald had every right to go for the ball. Bakayoko is now on for Eden Hazard with four minutes to go.

CHELSEA SUB! The final change of the evening is made - Fabregas, who has been pretty lively overall this evening, replaced by Pedro. Still time for Palace to pull on back and set up a grandstand finish at Stamford Bridge.

This one is not over just yet! Zaha picks out Van Aanholt to his left and the full-back kept his composure to slot the ball past Courtois. No clean sheet for Chelsea and it could get a whole lot worse if Palace can find a quickfire second.

Just three minutes of added time, all of which have been played. Referee is not ready to blow his whistle just yet, meaning that we could still have a dramatic late twist in West London. This has been a fascinating contest for the neutral.

Chelsea see out the remaining 60 seconds of added time to claim a much needed win - just their second in six Premier League matches. The Blues were made to dig deep after failing to take any of their second-half chances, with Crystal Palace again giving a good account of themselves.

That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Stamford Bridge. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from this and all the day's other top-flight matches can be found elsewhere on the site in due course. Thanks for joining!