Chelsea's Premier League title defence already looks doomed... so what are the problems facing Antonio Conte after Crystal Palace defeat?

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Chelsea are eight games into the Premier League campaign and already their aspirations of defending their title appear doomed.

Saturday brought a third league defeat for Antonio Conte's side, following previous reverses against Manchester City and Burnley. 

This was the perhaps the most worrying of all, as Chelsea were comprehensively outfought by Crystal Palace, a team that had previously lost all seven games and failed to score.

Antonio Conte walks off the field after Chelsea's 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday

The Blues slipped to a second successive league defeat at Selhurst Park this weekend

1. Trouble with Costa, transfers and physical demands

Watch Chelsea this season and there is a nagging sense that something is not quite right. 

The summer yielded fraught tensions between the manager and the club hierarchy, a number of lapsed transfer deals and the Diego Costa situation overshadowed the club's preparations for the new season. 

Conte did not have the squad he wanted when the league season kicked off and the fact Chelsea were 3-0 down at home to Burnley inside 45 minutes spoke volumes. 

They still have the capacity to pull off outstanding one-off performances, such as the victories at Tottenham and Atletico Madrid. 

Yet do they have the consistency and depth to keep pace with the Manchester clubs? It appears not. 

Chelsea seem to be struggling with the physical demands too, with Palace offering more sprints and running further as a team than their counterparts on Saturday. 

Conte continues to say how 'difficult' the season will be and the more you say something, the more likely it becomes to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Tiemoue Bakayoko and David Luiz have their hands on their hips towards the end of the match

2. Midfield balance issues

Chelsea allowed Nemanja Matic to leave for Manchester United and that appears a more careless gesture with every passing week. 

His replacement, Tiemoue Bakayoko, has outstanding qualities in his stride, balance and power but he does not offer the positional discipline of his predecessor. 

With N'Golo Kante sidelined through injury for the next few weeks, Conte can ill-afford to pair Bakayoko with Cesc Fabregas too often. It leaves Chelsea vulnerable on the counter attack and in a midfield battle. 

Danny Drinkwater is not too far away from a return but another option might be to play with David Luiz in midfield and allow a defensive opportunity for Andreas Christensen or Antonio Rudiger.

Michy Batshuayi failed to impress Antonio Conte and was hauled off after 57 minutes

3. Striking struggles

Alvaro Morata is an outstanding frontman but Chelsea are now one injury niggle away from a crisis. 

When Sergio Aguero missed Saturday's fixture for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola's side scored seven. Chelsea, by contrast, wilted entirely without their star frontman.

Michy Batshuayi has popped up with important goals, notably to win the title at West Brom and to seal victory at Atletico. Yet Conte clearly does not trust the striker to last the distance during a major game. 

When Morata was injured against City early on, Conte preferred to play without a striker than offer Batshuayi a chance and on Saturday, the Belgian played only 57 minutes before being substituted.

He subsequently cursed to the heavens and through a minor hissy-fit on the touchline. It was clear in the summer that Conte wanted a different man, notably Fernando Llorente, and now he is being proved correct in his judgement.

The champions have slipped nine points behind league leaders Manchester City

4. Flimsy title defence

No side has successfully defended the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 2009 and we are coming up to a decade. 

To win consecutive Premier League titles, with the resources of the clubs at the top of this division, appears ever more difficult. 

Since the start of the Premier League era, only Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have achieved the feat. Yet there are title defences and then there are Chelsea title defences. 

Chelsea's mentality was severely questioned two years ago, when Mourinho's all-conquering champions suffered the most extraordinary meltdown. 

Conte warned in pre-season that his team would not endure another 'Mourinho season'. With his team nine points off the pace and 20 behind Manchester City on goal difference, Conte's words may yet come back to haunt him.

Wilfried Zaha celebrates with the home fans after re-asserting Palace's lead on Saturday

5. Predictability

Chelsea's 3-4-2-1 formation stunned the Premier League last season and over the past year nearly every side in the division have trialled the system at one point or another. 

Conte changed the way managers think but now English football is used to the formation and Chelsea are struggling for a Plan B. Does Conte have another trick up his sleeve to change matters up? 

It may be that the system yields more success in Europe, where more clubs are unfamiliar with the benefits of the formation.