Match Preview – Chelsea look to pile more misery on struggling Burnley as club football returns from the international break.
The relegation-threatened Clarets travel to Stamford Bridge following a morale-boosting win over Brentford before the break. Chelsea themselves entered the pause with a win and will be eyeing more points in their bid to reach the European places.
Here’s all you need to know about Saturday’s fixture.
Form
Chelsea: LWDWW
The Blues had a busy few weeks before the international break, securing progress to the FA Cup’s semi-finals. Cup success could be their best passage into Europe next season, given the fact they currently occupy a place in the Premier League’s bottom half.
However, they’re only five points off seventh place and have a game in hand on all the clubs around them. Furthermore, despite their season-long inconsistencies, a decent run of form has started to flourish.
Chelsea haven’t lost a football match in 90 minutes for nearly two months, and are unbeaten in their last four league games. They will also look forward to three games against clubs in the league’s bottom five across their next four fixtures.
Burnley at ???? is up next. ???? pic.twitter.com/mTFJZ4fPO4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 29, 2024
It’s vital they pick up as many points as possible over their upcoming run, as their fixture list does become more difficult, on paper, as the season draws to its conclusion.
In worrying team news for Chelsea, both Ben Chilwell and Cole Palmer returned from England duty with knocks, and both remain doubts for the weekend. Malo Gusto should be in line to start, but Carney Chukwuemeka, Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez join a large unavailable list for the hosts.
Burnley: LLLDW
Burnley’s return to England’s top division has been filled with turmoil. They’ve won just four games this campaign and have only picked up a total of nine points on the road, a stat that doesn’t bode well when travelling to Stamford Bridge.
However, the Clarets will be riding a wave of hope in the coming weeks after the points gap to 17th place was cut in half in the space of a few days. They won their last match at home to Brentford and that boost was followed by the news of Nottingham Forest’s four-point deduction for breaching PSR rules.
Burnley were 10 points adrift of Premier League safety, but they’re now just five points behind Luton Town and entering a relatively nice run of fixtures based on league positions.
Manager Vincent Kompany will be without David Fofana as the Ivorian striker is ineligible to face his parent club. However, Lyle Foster did make a return to the squad just before the international break, giving the Clarets well-needed depth in the attacking areas.
Previous Meetings
When the sides last met back in October, Chelsea put in a destructive second-half performance to win the tie 4-1. An own goal from Burnley’s Ameen Al Dakhil cancelled out Wilson Odobert’s early opener for Burnley before goals from Palmer, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson finished the Clarets off.
Chelsea’s recent record against Burnley is almost immaculate. Since 2018 they have met 10 times, winning eight and drawing two. However, when the Clarets last visited Stamford Bridge they came away with a point, and their two victories against Chelsea in the last 40 years were also away from home.
Despite The Blues’ domination over the past half-century, the overall head-to-heads are fairly close. They have faced off a total of 105 times, with Chelsea taking 42 and Burnley 38.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Mudryk; Jackson.
Burnley: Muric; Assignon, O’Shea, Esteve, Taylor; Vitinho, Cullen, Berge, Larsen; Odobert, Foster.
Who is the referee?
Darren England
Is the game on TV?
No
What time is kick-off?
15:00 GMT, Saturday 30 March
Odds
Chelsea – 2/7
Draw – 5/1
Burnley – 17/2
Read More – Chelsea prepared for ‘physical Burnley challenge’
Read Also – Chelsea willing to listen to offers for homegrown trio
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