Crystal Palace will be without attacking trio Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the Chelsea clash.

The goal-shy Eagles are rock bottom after losing their opening seven league games.

Roy Hodgson’s men face the daunting task of trying to stop the rot against current Premier League champions Chelsea on October 14.

And it has become even harder with the absence of Benteke, Zaha and Loftus-Cheek.

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Palace had hoped Zaha, who has been crocked with a knee injury since the opening day of the season, would recover in time to take on Cheslea. But the winger is struggling to prove his fitness.

Benteke was always going to miss the game with a knee problem, while Loftus-Cheek is unable to play against his parent club.

The trio’s unavailability will come as a huge blow to Hodgson, who has lost his first three league games since taking over from Frank de Boer last month.