Chelsea travel to Turf Moor on Saturday to face relegation battling Burnley who are just one point away from fighting out of the bottom three. 

The Blues sit third in the Premier League, 16 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will be looking to make it three straight Premier League wins in a row heaving beaten Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur in their last two Premier League outings.

The visit to Selhurst Park came just under two weeks ago, with the Blues facing Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley last Sunday.

Sean Dyche’s side have enjoyed a fairly fruitful run in the League recently, coming into the game having picked up seven points from their last four fixtures, including a narrow 1-0 victory against Antonio Conte’s Spurs.

Team News

For the hosts, Erik Pieters, Dale Stephens, Matej Vydra and Johann Berg Gudmundsson remain absent, while the Burnley boss also confirmed in his press conference on Friday that captain Ben Mee is also a major doubt due to a knee problem.

As for Chelsea, the two new names to the injury list are Andreas Christensen and Cezar Azpilicueta, although Hakim Ziyech and Trevoh Chalobah should be involved. 

Chalobah required stitches after last Sunday’s Wembley encounter due to a nasty challenge to the groin area from Liverpool’s Naby Keïta.

Predicted lineups

Burnley: Pope; Roberts, Tarkowski, Collins, Taylor; Lennon, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil, Weghorst, Cornet

Chelsea: Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic

Ones to watch

Wout Weghorst

Since his £12m deadline day signing, the Dutchman has contributed to just one goal and one assist for the Clarets.

Weghorst scored the opener against Brighton & Hove Albion, and with Dwight McNeil and Maxwell Cornet expected to start on Saturday, don’t bet against the former Wolfsburg man to get his second for the club.

If Burnley are to see Premier League football again next season, Weghorst will surely play a huge part to play.

Thiago Silva

After a hugely impressive 18 months or so since coming to Stamford Bridge, the 37-year-old has shown no sign of slowing down, even signing a one-year contract extension in the summer. 

With Burnley’s direct, long ball approach, it’s set to be a busy day for the Chelsea centre-backs but expect nothing less for Thiago Silva to marshal the World Champions’ back-line. 

Previous meetings

Since first coming to the Premier League in 2009, Burnley have only beaten Chelsea once, with the win coming back in August 2019.

An emphatic 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge for Sean Dyche’s side saw the Clarets go into the half-time break three goals up.

The reverse fixture earlier this season in November ended in a 1-1 draw, with Matej Vydra’s 79th minute equaliser seeing the point shared.

What the managers have said 

Ahead of the game, Sean Dyche spoke about how tough the contest will be for his side, saying: “They have got some fine players, that is for sure. They are still going to be a solid outfit, at a minimum. People have described it as an indifferent run but they have only lost one in 10.”

With Burnley picking up just three wins all season, the game will be a very tough contest, with Chelsea determined to seal their place in the top four.

In the blue corner, Thomas Tuchel spoke highly of the opposition.

“We are still in a good place in the table and we have to fight hard to stay where we are and give our best. We have a tough game coming at Burnley. We think we know very well what is coming. There will be no presents for us there. We want to dig in and accept the fight.”

Where to watch

For those in the UK, the game will not be viewed live on TV, with kick-off at 3PM.