Crystal Palace will struggle to hold Chelsea on Sunday without the services of several of their key men, according to former Arsenal forward Charlie Nicholas.

After a sensational start to the season, the Eagles have climbed to fifth in the Premier League – four points behind a Champions League play-off spot.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Chelsea have endured a dismal run which has seen the west Londoners drop to 14th and lose manager Jose Mourinho.

MORE: Chelsea boss positive key man will return against Palace

Palace are unbeaten in six league games but with Yannick Bolasie and Yohan Cabaye set to miss the clash with Chelsea at the weekend, Nicholas is predicting an away win.

The 53-year-old former forward said in his Sporting Life column: “What a season Palace are having but can they cope without the likes of Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham?

“Bolasie's loss is a gigantic blow. He's got so much ability and teases and torments defences, he's a big miss and I'm worried that without him they don't score a lot of goals.

“Chelsea are slowly looking a bit better. Diego Costa is back and Eden Hazard showed some nice touches against Manchester United.

“I'm still not convinced by Chelsea but I'm going to back them to edge it on Sunday, 2-1.”

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