Premier League: Chelsea Know What to Expect at Turf Moor

Burnley vs Chelsea

Chelsea head to Burnley on Saturday in the hope of cementing their Champions League place with a third consecutive league victory, while the Clarets are fighting for their top flight status.

This clash, Premier League: Burnley vs Chelsea pitches the third from bottom team against the third from top, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion as form over the past ten games would put the two teams much closer together.  

Chelsea come into the game on the back of a hard fought FA Cup win away to Championship club Luton Town, while the Clarets’ recent unbeaten run was halted by Leicester City on Tuesday night. But the Londoners are in a state of some upheaval off the pitch and are still raw from the disappointment of a penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool in last week’s Carabao Cup final.   

The latest Burnley vs Chelsea betting odds back an away win, but Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel knows not to expect an easy ride from a Sean Dyche team.  

Talking Points

Burnley hoping for a bounce back

Following a solid return of nine points from the last six games the Clarets suffered a setback on Tuesday night when two late goals gave Leicester City a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor. Burnley looked a little off the pace in the first half against Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes and, while having the better of the second half exchanges, they succumbed to two last breakaway goals.

The outcome was in stark contrast to the previous midweek clash with Spurs, which Burnley won 1-0 and never looked in any trouble against Harry Kane and Co. With two wins, six draws and four defeats at home Dyche will be disappointed by the lack of victories but the Clarets have recently become hard to beat again. The defeat to Leicester was only the second in Burnley’s last eight games, a run which also included matches against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The hosts have a bite up front too, with Ivorian Maxwel Cornet scoring six goals and new recruit Wout Weghorst has taken a lot of the credit for Burnley’s upturn in form. The 6ft 6in striker is equally good with his feet as in the air and has made a big difference to the Clarets’ attack. The combative form of midfield dynamo Josh Brownhill has been impressive, though he has picked up eight yellow cards, and Burnley fans will also hope talismanic captain and defender Ben Mee will be fit after he limped off at half time against the Foxes.

Chelsea’s concentration is on the pitch

Sports news and world events have collided over the past week and, as a result of conflict in East Europe, the most successful owner in Chelsea’s history, Roman Abramovich, has put the club up for sale. But on the pitch, apart from the setback against Liverpool, the Blues have kept on winning, in the FIFA World Cup and in the FA Cup and they are still in three competitions, with an FA Cup quarter-final to look forward to, and the Blues are half way through a Champions League Round of 16 tie with Lille, 2-0 up after the first leg. 

Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were both on target in the midweek FA Cup win against Luton and the return of Reece James, who came on as a substitute, is a huge boost to the Blues as his excellent delivery from the right wing makes such a difference to the strikers. In fairness, Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool ended in disappointment but they had the better of much of the open play and had some golden chances to win it, so the addition of James will add to their striking armoury.

History

The Blues have had the better of the head to head Burnley vs Chelsea results, winning ten of the last 16, drawing four times and losing twice, but when the two teams met at Stamford Bridge earlier in the campaign, a late Matej Vydra goal gave Burnley a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

In terms of recent form the Blues have won five and drawn one of the last six while Burnley have won two, drawn two and lost two.  

Betting Tip

At SBOTOP odds of 6.95 to win and 3.88 to draw the Clarets have a tough assignment on their hands with 1.45 the price on a Chelsea victory. For optimistic home fans you can get the double chance of Burnley or draw at 2.54 and a repeat of the 1-1 result is available at 7.33. Chelsea’s superior quality should come through but Burnley’s strong defence and attacking threat, backed by a noisy crowd will make the Blues work hard for anything they get.

 

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