Burnley vs Chelsea: Premier League preview – Prediction, team news, line-ups | OneFootball

Chelsea will travel north to face relegation-battling Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday amid uncertainty surrounding Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

Tuesday’s 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Leicester City brought the Clarets back to earth, halting their efforts to clamber out of the drop zone.

Thomas Tuchel’s side pulled off a second-half comeback to turn a 2-1 half-time deficit into a 3-2 victory in midweek FA Cup action away to Championship outfit Luton Town.

Match Preview

Burnley

In addition to snapping Burnley’s three-game unbeaten Premier League streak (W2, D1), the aforementioned loss to Leicester left Sean Dyche’s team stuck in the relegation territory.

However, things are looking bright for the Lancashire club, as they sit a mere one point below 17th-placed Everton in the Premier League table, although the Toffees still have a game in hand.

After eking out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture in December, the Clarets entertain a rare opportunity to go unbeaten in both seasonal matches against Chelsea.

The last time Burnley held the Blues winless in both league encounters across a single campaign was in 1970/71, though it is worth noting that they have lost all four previous top-flight H2Hs at Turf Moor.

Chelsea

A trip to Lancashire will get Chelsea’s Premier League action underway for the first time since mid-January when Hakim Ziyech’s winner grabbed them a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace right at the death.

The Blues may not have to wait that long to get on the scoresheet this time around, having scored before half-time in 14 of their 15 Premier League meetings with Burnley.

Adding to the visitors’ confidence, playing Premier League matches kicking off at 3.00 pm on Saturdays has benefited them heavily of late, with 11 wins from their last 15 such fixtures (D1, L1).

Tuchel seems to have got his defensive set-up back in shape, as Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in their last two Premier League outings, as many shut-outs as they had in their previous 13 combined.

Team News

Burnley boss Dyche cannot count on Matej Vydra and Johann Gudmundsson due to injury and illness, respectively, while Erik Pieters’ availability for this clash still hangs in the balance.

Chelsea welcomed Reece James back from a long-term injury at Luton on Wednesday, leaving Ben Chilwell, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen as the three remaining absentees.

Burnley Potential Starting XI:

(4-4-2): Nick Pope; Connor Roberts, Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Charlie Taylor; Josh Brownhill, Ashley Westwood, Aaron Lennon, Dwight McNeil; Jay Rodriguez, Wout Weghorst.

Chelsea Potential Starting XI:

(3-4-2-1): Edouard Mendy; Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Reece James; Callum Hudson-Odoi, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Alonso; Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech; Kai Havertz.

Burnley vs Chelsea Prediction

Chelsea had racked up four consecutive multi-goal victories over Burnley before slumping to a draw in the reverse fixture, and everyone expects them to get back to winning ways here.

But given the Clarets’ recent showings against Manchester United (1-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (1-0), we would not put it past Dyche’s team to stage an upset here.

Burnley 1-1 Chelsea.