Chelsea
will bid to their keep their 100 per cent Premier League record intact when
Cardiff City visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea are one of three Premier League teams to have registered four wins
from four matches, alongside Liverpool and Watford.
Asked which teams are in title contention, boss Maurizio Sarri said: "At the
moment I can answer Man City or Liverpool, at the moment.
"We need another step, I think, to be the same level.
"It's very difficult. The gap was 30 points at the beginning of the season."
Cardiff have picked up just two points from their opening four Premier
League games and are one of five teams still without a win.
Things don't get much easier with this trip. In fact, Cardiff's only league
win in the last 55 years against the Blues was at Stamford Bridge in 1981.
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock wants to sign Chelsea and Wales teenager Ethan
Ampadu on loan in January.
Warnock says he will speak to Chelsea officials about the prospect of
signing Ampadu on loan in the next transfer window.
Midfielder Ampadu, who celebrated his 18th birthday o Friday, shone for
Wales against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark during the international
break.
"I will be speaking to somebody at Chelsea about one or two things," Warnock
said. "I think they should loan him (Ampadu) to us and I could help him as
well.
"He doesn't look out of place. What I like about him is that he is so
confident."
Team news
Maurizio Sarri will make a late decision on the fitness of players who
returned from international duty. Cesc Fabregas is returning to full fitness
but won't be ready to play this weekend.
Emerson Palmieri, Davide Zappacosta and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have had knocks
which could see them miss out.
Cardiff City's Josh Murphy (hamstring) and Aron Gunnarsson (knee) are back
in the squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge. However, Nathaniel
Mendez-Laing remains a few weeks away from returning with a knee injury.
Opta stats
Chelsea have won 10 of their last 12 league meetings with Cardiff (D1 L1),
including both previous Premier League meetings in the 2013-14 campaign.
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 51 home Premier League games
against newly-promoted opposition (W42 D8 L1), with that defeat coming
against Bournemouth in December 2015.
Cardiff are winless in six matches in all competitions (W0 D3 L3), their
worst run under Warnock; they last went on a longer run without victory
between January and February 2015 (eight games).
Chelsea have won each of their opening four Premier League games to a season
for the sixth time (also 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2014-15), at
least twice more than any other side in the competition's history.
Warnock is without a win in 10 Premier League games (W0 D5 L5) - he has
never gone 11 consecutive Premier League matches without victory.
Maurizio Sarri could become the fourth manager in Premier League history to
win his first five games in the competition after Carlo Ancelotti (6), Pep
Guardiola (6) and Craig Shakespeare (5).
Chelsea attacker Pedro, who could make his 100th Premier League appearance
in this match, has scored three goals his last four league games, as many as
in his previous 26 combined.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Chelsea's Marcos Alonso has been
directly involved in more league goals than any other defender in Europe's
big five leagues (14 goals, 7 assists).
Merson's prediction
Cardiff will cause problems from set-pieces but will they get enough of the
ball? Chelsea have been excellent going forward. Cardiff will not be able to
live with Eden Hazard - he's just so good.
PAUL PREDICTS: 4-0 ()
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