Date: Saturday 22nd
November 2025
Venue: Turf Moor
Kick-off: 12:30 GMT
The
international break has finally packed its bags—hallelujah—and, true to form,
we’ve drawn the short straw with the Saturday lunchtime ‘hangover special’ at
Turf Moor. Up bright and early to face Scott Parker’s Burnley, because
apparently the Premier League schedule is written by someone who doesn’t
believe in lie-ins.
We rock up to this one enjoying the view from third after handing Wolves their tails with a 3-0 bashing. Burnley, on the other hand, just lost a five-goal thriller to West Ham and are clinging to 17th place like a cat on a washing line.
Turf Moor’s been our lucky charm lately—six
wins on the trot, practically our home from home. We’ve kept two clean sheets
in a row too, though let’s be honest, predicting our form is about as reliable
as the British forecast: mostly cloudy with a risk of absolute bedlam. As for
Burnley, their defence is currently doing its best impression of Swiss cheese:
seven goals conceded in three matches, and counting.
But wait, it gets
harder—Barcelona and Arsenal are looming on the horizon, and just to add some
extra pressure, Palmer’s out before he’s even stepped back in. So brace
yourselves for another round of Maresca’s ‘guess the line-up’ bingo which, as
always, could decide if we’re celebrating or commiserating by tea time.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
today’s game, Burnley manager, Scott Parker, says “Chelsea are a top
team. They’ve got world class footballers and an outstanding coach – I see them
being in and amongst it this season. They’re well structured in the way they
play and they’ve got huge quality, a great group of players who can make a real
difference in this league. But we feel we’re in a strong position to take on
the challenge of the game. We’re at home, where our performances and results
have been good, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, says “No doubt that it’s going to be a tough game, especially after the international break at 12 in the morning. It’s always a tricky game and we need to pay attention. It will be a different game (to when we beat Wolves). We know that every game is different. Probably we need to use different strategies, different weapons.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Burnley, Jordan Beyer (thigh), Zeki Amdouni (knee) and Connor Roberts (Achilles) are all injured. . As for Armando Broja, he’s a maybe—he hobbled off against England but might just manage to limp his way onto the pitch with a bit of luck and a lot of tape.
For Chelsea, the physio’s room is still being kept busy. Levi
Colwill (ACL), Dario Essugo (thigh) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) all remain out,
whilst Cole Palmer seems to have gone full “sicknote”, with a broken toe now
keeping him out after his recovery from a proper injury. Mykhaylo Mudryk is
also missing, but that’s courtesy of a ban rather than a dodgy limb—clearly.
TEAMS
BURNLEY
(Possible line-up): Dubravka;
Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman; Florentino, Cullen; Bruun Larsen, Ugochukwu,
Anthony; Flemming
CHELSEA
(Possible line-up): Sanchez;
Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Estevao, Pedro, Garnacho;
Delap
LAST SEASON
N/A
CURRENT FORM (PL)
BURNLEY: LLWWLL
CHELSEA: LWWLWW
OTHER STUFF
- Burnley
have won just one of their 18 Premier League games against Chelsea.
- Chelsea have won eight of their nine
Premier League away games against Burnley.
- Chelsea have won their last six Premier
League away games against Burnley, scoring at least three goals in each of the
last five.
- Burnley have lost four of their last six
Premier League games, conceding 2+ goals in five of those games.
- Burnley have kept just two clean sheets
in their last 31 Premier League games.
- Chelsea have won both of their last two
Premier League away games, each without conceding.
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Burnley 1-3 Chelsea
