Date: Saturday 26th October 2019
Venue: Turf Moor
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
No doubt about it, we had a massive win midweek away to Ajax, but today’s late game against Burnley will probably throw up a greater challenge.
Obviously I’m not comparing them to Ajax, but you know what you’re going to get from Burnley. It won’t be pretty, anything but, Burnley are dogged and generally just bloody frustrating – we can expect a physical battle as well.
They might not have the best record against the top six but they’re also no strangers to the odd upset either. This season’s younger Chelsea side looked resilient in the Champions League but won’t necessarily have enough left in the tank for today’s battle.
This fixture ended in a draw in April and if we could take a point away from Turf Moor this evening, I think we’d have to be happy enough with that.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into today’s game, Burnley manager Sean Dyche, says “A lot is made of the young players and they are doing really well but there is some really good players around them. If you look at that squad on paper. It is not like he (Lampard) went into a group of novice hurdlers. But he is adding to that and adding his own way as to how he wants the team to perform. They don’t really over-think it and his challenge will be to keep that going over the course of a season and the ups and downs that come with a season.
They are on a good run but they are a good side. Even their younger players, Tammy Abraham is not that young and has been around a while, he’s probably had 120-130 games. Hudson-Odoi is still learning but looks a very good player, Mason Mount is a good player, Tomori, there is a group there backed and supported by a very experienced group.”
Chelsea boss. Frank Lampard, meanwhile, says “It’s a tough place to go. They have a strong way of playing, they are well drilled. They can give you big problems. It is a tough match. You have to respect the teams you play, it will be a physical battle. They have been good. I have watched a lot of their games. They are scoring goals. They had a tough time at the early stages of last season, they have always been a difficult game.
What Sean has done is get a club into the Premier League and sustain their position. It’s a very nice story. I know the hard work it takes to keep going and get good results. He’s doing very well.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Burnley, Chris Wood (hamstring) faces a fitness test, Jack Cork (shoulder) and Ashley Barnes (groin), are in contention but Johann Berg Gudmundsson (hamstring) and Danny Drinkwater (ankle) won’t feature.
For Chelsea, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles), van Ginkel (ACL), N’Golo Kante (groin), Ross Barkley (ankle), Andreas Christensen (hamstring) and Antonio Rudiger (groin) all remain out.
TEAMS
BURNLEY (Possible line-up): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Hendrick, Cork, Westwood, McNeil; Barnes, Wood
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Kouma, Tomori, Alonso; Kovacic; Jorginho; Willian, Mount; Pulisic; Abraham.
LAST SEASON
Burnley 2-2 Chelsea (22nd April 2019)
CURRENT FORM (PL)
BURNLEY: LDWDWL
CHELSEA: DWLWWW
OTHER STUFF
- Burnley’s only win from 10 Premier League meetings with Chelsea was at Stamford Bridge in August 2017.
- Burnley’s last home win against Chelsea was in 1983 in the Second Division.
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their five Premier League trips to Turf Moor.
- Burnley’s loss at Leicester last weekend was a first in five league matches.
- Chelsea have won six successive games in all competitions.
- Burnley have won three of their four home league games without conceding.
- Burnley’s only defeat at home was to Liverpool in August.
- Burnley have only won one of their 25 Premier League encounters with established top-six clubs (Spurs Feb 2019).
- Chelsea could win four straight league fixtures for the first time in more than a year.
- Burnley are without a clean sheet in their last 34 games against those top-six sides.
- Chelsea have kept back-to-back clean sheets in all competitions for the first time under Lampard.
- Chelsea have let in 28 goals in 13 Premier League away trips in 2019, the most conceded in a calendar year since 1997.
PREDICTION
BBC Sport: Burnley 1-1 Chelsea
Sky Sports: Burnley 2-1 Chelsea
Sportsmole: Burnley 1-1 Chelsea
Blue is the colour
