Stamford Bridge on Saturday hosts visitors from eight miles across south London for a derby absent in recent years. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton preview the last home game before Christmas.

Chelsea's nine-match December continues with the visit of a reglazed Crystal Palace, and the Blues must hope Tony Pulis's new side will be putty in their hands by the end 90 minutes.

Stamford Bridge is a formidable arena again these days. It may take a 90-year-old such as former winger Johnny Paton to remind supporters of their power and influence - as our oldest surviving player did against Southampton - but the reality is that this corner of west London is a fortress few can undermine.

Despite the flat second-half performance, that fact was reinforced on Wednesday in the Champions League against Steaua. The 12-point haul that secured Chelsea's seeding in Monday's Round of 16 draw (from 11am UK time) was founded on home dominance after a sticky start. And of course Jose Mourinho has his personal record on Fulham Road to defend.

Chelsea are undefeated in the last seven Premier League London derbies, which have brought five wins and two draws. After Wednesday's European action there are four English teams in the final 16 of Europe's elite competition with a combined total of 53 group stage points; that is just two off the record set by Spain's protagonists in 2002/03.

The bare necessities of finishing top of the group were underlined by the possible first knockout round opponents arrayed for two of the Premier League teams, Arsenal and Man City: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain. Additionally City could face Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal Bayern Munich.

In contrast the potential opposition for group winners Chelsea and Manchester United includes just one current league leader: Olympiacos.

Palace manager Tony Pulis may well have detected a vulnerability in Chelsea's domestic form despite the progress on all fronts. His new side are very much in form: 10 points in five games, with four clean sheets.

However the former Stoke boss has lost nine of his 11 encounters with Chelsea and drawn two. He has also suggested Palace's survival will not depend on away matches but their form at Selhurst Park.

As far as he is concerned this is a no-pressure game, with no return expected from this and the next game at Eastlands. However Pulis has also said the current Chelsea is not a team ‘bearing the stamp of Jose Mourinho’ and that is why he will fancy his chances. His predecessor was more worried about 'losing the spirit of the group' and promptly resigned.

During his sabbatical away from football Pulis toured historic sights and battlefields around the Crimean peninsula. Do not expect his men to perform a charge of the Light Brigade this weekend.

Perhaps the attritional siege of Sevastapol is more in keeping with his tactical approach. Last season Pulis admitted, ‘We blocked, we obstructed a player. I'm not supposed to be that honest.’

However in a few short weeks he has framed Crystal Palace into relegation escapees primarily by organising Marouane Chamakh and Cameron Jerome upfront and reminding everyone else of their positional duties.

A recent-form league table for the last five games has Crystal Palace in sixth place with an identical record to Chelsea: three wins, one draw and one defeat. The west Londoners are fifth on goal difference. Only Newcastle have won more points over the same period.

This is Crystal Palace's first trip to Stamford Bridge for nearly nine years. Mourinho was in charge and we were heading for our first Premier League title.


- Match preview by chelseafc.com