On Saturday, from 15:00 pm, Chelsea receives a visit from a team that has had problems in the past, Burnley. Guests come to Stamford Bridge with the thought of at least one draw, even if Sean Dyche’s band is not in the best shape. Both bands have almost complete batches, but Frank Lampard doesn’t know if he can bet on Loftus-Cheek and Marcos Alonso. The Pulisic midfielder is uncertain, but has a good chance of being recovered.
Chelsea fans have no fond memories of the Burnley duels. On Stamford Bridge, Sean Dyche’s team has gone undefeated in 3 of the last 4 visits, including a memorable 3-2 victory. Burnley led by then 3-0 and played a long time in numerical superiority, but the Londoners returned to the final and were close to getting the draw. It was not to be, however, and Burnley remains a nightmare for Chelsea, who drew at home with this opponent (2-2 and 1-1), from 2017 until today. In the tour, however, the Londoners were clearly superior: 4-2! In fact, Chelsea has won the last three trips to Turf Moor, 4-2, 4-0 and 2-1.
The hero of the tour match was American Pulisic (’21, ’45 and ’56), whose hattrick brought victory for Frank Lampard’s team. Willian also scored after the break, and Jay Rodriguez (’86) and Dane O’Neill (’89) scored the goals of honor, from Brady’s decisive steps. Chelsea played perfectly and had 16 shots on goal, 64% possession, 6 corners and only 8 fouls committed. With performances such as those of recent times, Chelsea should be a favorite this time, thanks to a very good possession game, which will not leave many chances to the visitors.
Chelsea is in second place in the Premier League in the top of the ball, with 17,050 balls received, being surpassed only by Manchester City, a “machine” of passes: 17,685 touches. In recent weeks, the Londoners have beaten rivals Arsenal (2-1) and Tottenham (2-0), each time after a successful recipe: small spaces between lines, fast passes and frequent changes of position of the attackers. With Tammy Abraham the starter (12 goals this season), the favorites have a scary scorer on the field, who will benefit from Willian, Mount, Kovacic or Jorginho’s passes. Last time, Chelsea missed the victory in Brighton (1-1), where the Iranian Jahanbaksh scored a splendid goal from the scissors in the last minutes.
If Chelsea have recently impressed, Burnley comes after pitiful failures with Everton (0-1), Manchester United (0-2) and Aston Villa (1-2). Slow in defense and uninspired in attack, the white-throats had weak moments in the English Cup, on the weekend, on their own ground: 4-2 with Peterborough, the third league team. A day later, Chelsea played at home to Nottingham Forest (2-0), thanks to the success of Hudson-Odoi and Barkley. On Saturday, Burnley will not be able to count on Gibson, Barnes, Gudmundsson, Lennon and Wood injured – significant absences. With 9 defeats in the last 13 Premier League stages, Burnley has no big arguments here. In the standings, Chelsea ranks 4th (goalscoring 36-29), and Burnley 15th (goalscoring 24-34).
PROBABLE TEAMS IN CHELSEA – BURNLEY
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga; James, Rudiger, Zouma, Azpilicueta; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi
Burnley: Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, Brady; McNeil, Vydra
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1,62
