Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton is expecting his former club to secure a narrow victory when they face Crystal Palace this afternoon.

The BBC pundit believes new manager Graham Potter will need time to instill his playing style at the club, but he feels the Blues should have enough to come away with the three points at Selhurst Park:

“I don’t really know what to expect from Chelsea here, and whether anything will click at all or change dramatically in Graham Potter’s first league game in charge. It is going to take time for him to mould them into his team, doing what he wants to see. But what we do know is that, so far this season, too many Chelsea players have not been at the level required, and that has to change. Crystal Palace will make things difficult for them but I think we will see an improvement from the Blues, and it might be enough for them to edge this.”

Sutton has gone with a 2-1 win for Chelsea, which seems like a fair prediction. Of course, it is hard to tell how the players will perform considering Potter hasn’t been in the job that long but they will be keen to impress.

Some, including the likes of Christian Pulisic, will feel that they have a clean slate, and that should lift the mood in the dressing room. Whether it will lead to an immediate upturn in results, though, that remains to be seen.

The 1-1 draw against Salzburg before the international break showed that there is a lot of work to be done, but Potter has now had slightly longer to work with the squad so we may see some improvements against Palace.