Chelsea are out to squeeze back into the English Premier League’s top four when they host relegation-threatened Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
A frustrating 2-2 draw against Leeds in their last PL fixture snapped a four-match winning streak for Liam Rosenior’s charges. Their great run of form leaves them in fifth place with 44 points, one outside the top four.
Burnley on the other hand snapped a four-match winless run to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 away from home, only their fourth league win of the season. This was however followed up by an embarrassing home defeat to lowly Mansfield, knocking them out of the FA Cup.
The Blues have lost just once in their last 10 games since Rosenior took charge and seem to be on course to qualify for Europe next season. Manchester United are a place and a point above Chelsea, with the former not in action until Monday night against Everton.
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Victory for the Blues here will see them finish the weekend in fourth place, until the Red Devils play on Monday at least. They are favorites to win here – the last time they lost to Burnley was in 2017.
Here we have a look at both sides ahead of the match, weigh their strengths and offer our predicted outcome at the end of the article.
What time does Chelsea vs Burnley start?
The game will kick off at 6PM E.A.T
Chelsea vs Burnley team news
We can expect a number of changes from the Chelsea side that beat Hull City in the FA Cup, with Liam Delap expected to be relegated to the bench as well as Alejandro Garnacho.
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer are the two players expected to return to the starting XI in their place, with the duo both on target in their last PL match – a 2-2 draw against Leeds.
Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez will also return to the midfield alongside Moises Caicedo as Andrew Santos settles for a place on the bench.
Wesley Fofana and Reece James will retain their places in the starting XI, with Trevor Chalobah and Marc Cucurella set to return in place of Jorell Hato and Mamadou Sarr.
The visiting Burnley are not expected to make any changes from the side that lined up to face Crystal Palace. Jaidon Anthony and Hannibal Mejbri were both on target in the win and will start here as well.
The rest of the side is expected to remain unchanged.
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Chelsea vs Burnley head-to-head and current form
Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez were both on target as Chelsea registered a 2-0 victory against Burnley in the reverse fixture last November. The Blues have won three of their last five games played against Burnley – the remaining two have resulted in a stalemate.
Both draws were at Stamford Bridge – meaning Chelsea must snap their winless home run against the struggling newcomers.
With three defeats in their last five games, Burnley are desperate to find a way to turn their season around to avoid relegation back to the Championship.
Current form:
Chelsea – DWWWW
Burnley – LWLLD
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Chelsea vs Burnley previous games
Chelsea vs Burnley prediction
Despite being held in their last two games against Burnley at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are enjoying a great run of form and are expected to break that duck here. They are unbeaten in their last four home games and have scored in each of those games.
Burnley have one away win in their last eight games and this is the toughest test in a while. The visitors’ most likely scenario would be yet another defeat on the road against a side hunting the PL’s top four.
Prediction – Chelsea to win – CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR BET ON THIS GAME!