Team
news, stats and prediction ahead of Chelsea vs Burnley in the Premier League
on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Team news
Mason Mount could still feature in Chelsea's Premier League clash with
Burnley despite struggling with infected wisdom teeth. Marcos Alonso will
miss out with an ankle problem, but Christian Pulisic and N'Golo Kante
should be in action.
Mateo Kovacic (thigh), Romelu Lukaku (ankle) and Timo Werner (thigh) are all
still sidelined.
Burnley winger Aaron Lennon is a doubt due to a bout of illness. Otherwise,
boss Sean Dyche looks set to have the same group of players to choose from
as he did for last weekend's 3-1 win over Brentford.
Dale Stephens is still not yet ready to make his first-team return after
injury.
Jones Knows' prediction
The job Thomas Tuchel is doing at Chelsea shouldn't be underestimated. Not
many bosses could manage a squad full of so much talent and ego whilst also
making sure squad players are fully invested in the end goal for the team.
Plus, Romelu Lukaku hasn't been available for the last three games but it's
made not one bit of difference to the dynamic. And, Tuchel has already won a
Champions League.
I still do think Chelsea are overperforming with their outrageous defensive
numbers and I'll be trying to exploit that when they face a dangerous attack
over the next few weeks. Not in this game though.
Burnley have won just one of their last 14 Premier League fixtures with
Chelsea, rolling over tamely in most seasons. During that run, they have
conceded an average of 2.5 goals per game and faced a whopping 18.5 shots
per game. More important games lie ahead for Sean Dyche.
A smart way to increase the skinny odds for a Chelsea victory is to back
Chelsea to win and under 3.5 goals. Tuchel likes his teams to remain in
control of matches in order to keep the opposition from creating big
chances. Just five of their overall 42 fixtures under Tuchel have featured
four or more goals and 29 of their 33 wins have seen less than 3.5 goals
scored in the match.
SCORE PREDICTION: 3-0
Opta stats
Chelsea have won their last four Premier League games against Burnley,
scoring 12 and conceding twice in this run.
Burnley have won just one of their 14 Premier League games against Chelsea
(D3 L10). However, five of the six points they've won in the competition
against the Blues have come at Stamford Bridge (W1 D2 L4).
After winning just three of their first 30 Premier League games in London
(D4 L23), Burnley have won five of their last eight top-flight games in the
capital (L3).
None of the 14 Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Burnley have
ended nil-nil - indeed, all 14 matches have seen at least one goal scored in
the first half, the most meetings between two teams in Premier League
history to have seen at least one goal scored in the first 45 minutes in
every match.
Chelsea have scored 16 goals in their opening five home Premier League games
this season (W4 L1), their joint-most at this stage of a Premier League
season, also netting 16 in 2010-11. They've only scored more at this stage
in two previous top-flight seasons: 17 in 1959-60 and 22 in 1958-59.
This will be Chelsea's second consecutive Saturday 3pm kick-off in the
Premier League, having faced Newcastle last week. The last time they played
on consecutive Saturdays with a 3pm kick-off in the league was in August
2016, with the second game in that run a 3-0 home win over Burnley.
Burnley picked up their first Premier League victory of the season last time
out against Brentford - the Clarets are looking to win consecutive league
games for the first time since January, when they beat Liverpool and Aston
Villa.
This will be Thomas Tuchel's 30th Premier League game in charge of Chelsea -
the Blues have kept 18 clean sheets since his first game in charge in
January, four more than any other side, while only José Mourinho ever kept
more than 18 in his first 30 games in charge in the competition (22).
In just five Premier League starts this season, Reece James has been
directly involved in six goals for Chelsea (four goals, two assists), the
joint-most of any Blues player alongside Mateo Kovacic. The 21-year-old has
scored in every game so far this campaign in which he's played more than 45
minutes.
Burnley's Maxwel Cornet has scored four goals in his first five Premier
League appearances, netting their third goal in a 3-1 win over Brentford in
their last game. It is the joint-most goals scored in a player's first five
Premier League appearances when each appearance has come for a side starting
the day in the relegation zone, equaling Demba Ba's four in five for West
Ham in February and March 2011.
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