Burnley vs Chelsea Preview, Odds, Team News, Tactics and Stats - Premier League
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| Photo: 90 Minute |
Premier League Burnley vs Chelsea latest odds
Having only lost one of their last 14 matches against this opposition, they are 1/2 (1.50) favourites with bet365 to collect maximum points here.
Sean Dyche’s men have claimed just a single point from their opening five matches this campaign but can be backed at 9/2 (5.50) to pull off a shock win in this one.
Three of the guests’ last four league fixtures have resulted in draws, and you can get odds of 15/4 (4.75) on them being held to a stalemate once again, according to goal.
Burnley vs Chelsea preview
While the four-goal haul will have excited the supporters, Frank Lampard will perhaps have been equally pleased with a third consecutive clean sheet considering his side’s early season defensive issues.
With Edouard Mendy proving a stabilising influence in goal and Thiago Silva bringing his vast experience to the heart of the defence, they are starting to look a far more assured unit at the back.
This is bad news for a Clarets side that has scored a joint league low three goals so far this season, hitting the net just once in the last five matches in all competitions.
* Read more: Matchday 21 Premier League Preview: Overview – Kick-off Times, Forms, Community predictions
Team News & Tactics
Burnley
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| Photo: Sky News |
Sean Dyche has a number of pressing roster issues hampering his preparations ahead of the visit of Chelsea. On Saturday, the Burnley manager, who is already stretched for resources, will be bereft of the services of five first-team players.
While Phil Bardsley remains in isolation due to his ongoing recovery from the coronavirus, the likes of Ben Mee (hamstring), Erik Pieters (calf) and Jack Cork (ankle) are all still some way off making their way back from their respective injuries while Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) is a major doubt and could miss out against Chelsea.
The potential absence of Gudmundsson means Robbie Brady is a certain starter on the right side of the midfield quartet, and so are Ashley Westwood, Josh Brownhill and Dwight McNeil. McNeil, in particular, will have the spotlight on him, with the young winger carrying the bulk of Burnley’s threat in the final third.
Upfront, Chris Wood should pair up with Ashley Barnes in the strike partnership for the hosts, with Jay Rodriguez and Matej Vydra being the backup options. As for defence, the back four of Matt Lowton, Kevin Long, James Tarkowski and Charlie Taylor pick themselves, with Nick Pope the obvious pick between the sticks.
The objective for Burnley will invariably be to put men in behind the ball, just as they did against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend before their defence was finally breached. Similarly, the hosts will hope to frustrate the Chelsea attack, hoping to strike them on the counter with long balls.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Pope; Lowton, Long, Tarkowski, Taylor; Brady, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil; Wood, Barnes
Chelsea
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| Photo: Premier League |
Frank Lampard does not have any fresh injury concerns to contend with ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Burnley on Saturday, the Chelsea manager will only be travelling without two first-team players, with Kepa Arrizabalaga (shoulder) and Billy Gilmour (knee) unavailable.
Neither player’s absence hurts Chelsea any which way, with Edouard Mendy the resounding first-choice goalkeeper for the Blues while the likes of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are vying for the midfield spots.
Mendy should indeed retain his place between the sticks, hoping to keep a third successive clean sheet, something unheard of in the Frank Lampard era so far. In front of him, Chelsea ought to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Thiago Silva expected to return to the heart of the defence after being rested in the midweek Champions League fixture.
Silva will pair up with Kurt Zouma to form the central defensive partnership, while Reece James is likely to come in for Cesar Azpilicueta in the right-back slot. On the opposite flank, there is no displacing Ben Chilwell, who has made the left-back spot his own.
Up ahead in midfield, Jorginho might miss out, with Kovacic and Kante partnering up in the double pivot. Kovacic will often carry the ball forward to add to the numbers in order to heap pressure on the Burnley defence.
However, it is the attack that will have the spotlight on it on Saturday. For at long last, Lampard will be able to name his strongest attacking quartet. Hakim Ziyech was impressive in his first start for Chelsea and will retain his place on the right flank, while Christian Pulisic will come in on the left. Timo Werner will lead the line for Chelsea while Kai Havertz will play off him as the no. 10, cites thehardtackle.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Mendy; James, Silva, Zouma, Chilwell; Kante, Kovacic; Ziyech, Havertz, Pulisic; Werner
Jones Knows' prediction
Against Wolves on Wednesday Chelsea recorded 78.9 per cent possession and 832 successful passes, the most for the club in a Premier League home match since Opta began keeping these records in 2003. Whether that paints their new boss Thomas Tuchel in a positive light or not I'm not sure - but it is obviously far too early to be making any sweeping statements about what style of football he is likely to adopt.This will be a similar test to the one he faced against Wolves with his attackers tasked with breaking down Burnley's low-block. Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount impressed from the bench in the draw with Wolves and their trickery will surely be utilised from the start by Tuchel, who will be keen to learn more about his squad in the coming weeks.
Burnley will dig in but much of their chance will be based on the performance of Nick Pope, who has made the most saves of any goalkeeper in the Premier League over the last six weeks (41).
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-0 (8/1 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- Chelsea have lost one of their 13 Premier League games against Burnley (W9 D3), losing 2-3 on the opening day of the 2017-18 season at Stamford Bridge as reigning champions.
- Burnley have only won six points in 13 Premier League matches against Chelsea (W1 D3) but five of those six have been earned at Stamford Bridge, via a win (3-2 in 2017/18) and two draws (1-1 in 2014/15 and 2-2 in 2018/19).
- None of the 13 Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Burnley have been goalless at half-time - this is the only Premier League fixture played more than 10 times to see a goal scored in the first half of each meeting.
- Chelsea are winless in three home league games, last having a longer league run without a victory at Stamford Bridge in May 2016 under Guus Hiddink (five games).
- Chelsea netted 29 goals in their first 14 Premier League games this season (2.1 per game), but have scored just four in their subsequent six (0.7 per game). The Blues haven't netted more than once in these six games, last having a longer league run of failing to score at least twice between October-December 2015 (7).
- Burnley are looking to win three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since April 2019. Meanwhile, the last time they won three consecutive top-flight games all against sides starting the day in the top half of the table was in March 1965.
- Burnley came from behind to win a Premier League game for the first time this season in their last match against Aston Villa. The 3-2 victory was the first time they'd scored as many as three goals in 30 Premier League games, since beating Bournemouth 3-0 in February 2020.
| In their 0-0 draw with Wolves last time out, Chelsea recorded 78.9% possession and 832 successful passes, the Blues' highest figures in a Premier League home match since we have this data available (2003-04). Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez has scored in four of his seven starts against Chelsea in all competitions, netting four goals, though only one of those was scored at Stamford Bridge - for Southampton in a 3-1 defeat in December 2013. Of all keepers to have played at least twice this season, only Ederson (61%) has kept a clean sheet in a higher share of their games than Chelsea's Édouard Mendy (50% - 8/16). |
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