Monday night at 20:00 Chelsea and Burnley complete the 38th Premier League game with a match played on Stamford Bridge, which brings unpleasant memories to London fans. On his last visit to the white-blue field, Burnley was 3-2 in the first round of the 2017/2018 season. Since then, Chelsea has won two direct duels with white-burgundy.
Without Ampadu, Rudiger, and uncertain Hazard, Chelsea sets off a big favorite in front of Burnley, a band released by relegation emotions. Sean Dyche’s students have won three victories in the last three stages of the Premier League and have secured their status for the next season, which means we will be seeing a match only for the host team. Outside the UCL area, Chelsea pulls hard for a Top 4 ranking, which is likely to be high, given the results. But success is mandatory on Monday night.
Chelsea is on 5th place (goal 57-36) and can climb at least one position, if Tottenham does not defeat Manchester City on the move! As a result, the three points are vital to Maurizio Sarri’s students, who suffered a single failure this season on their own ground. On the other side, Burnley is 14th (42-60) and only three teams have scored more goals than the Turf Moor. Burnley comes after wins with Wolverhampton (2-0), Bournemouth (3-1) and Cardiff (2-0) but can not rely on Lennon, Crouch, Defour and Bardsley on Monday. We are expecting a defensive score from the visitors, while white-blues will play their usual and very efficient possession game.
Chelsea comes after a non-emotional qualification in the UEFA Europa League semifinals after the Londoners eliminated Slavia Prague with a double win, 1-0 away and 4-3 on their own. In the final stages of the championship, Chelsea has won important victories with West Ham (2-0), Brighton (3-0) and Cardiff (2-1), but crushed Liverpool (0-2) in travel. If Hazard is able to play, then the offensive force of the hosts will grow exponentially, but the Belgian accuses ankle pain and could be helped by Maurizio Sarri. The favorites have a more valuable team and have been forced into the previous three direct duels.
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1,60
