PL PREVIEW: Chelsea v Burnley

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Build-up as the Clarets aim for another capital performance at the Bridge

2021-01-31T07:56:00.000Z

PL PREVIEW: Chelsea v Burnley

Build-up as the Clarets aim for another capital performance at the Bridge

2021-01-31T07:56:00.000Z

Build-up as the Clarets aim for another capital performance at the Bridge

The Clarets make a second trip to West London in the space of eight days as they look to extend their winning run.

A week ago, Sean Dyche’s men knocked Fulham out of the FA Cup at Craven Cottage.

And on Sunday they will be just over a mile away at Stamford Bridge for a high-noon showdown with Chelsea in the Premier League.

The Clarets have won on four of their last five visits to London and will be looking to add to last month’s victory at Arsenal by making it successive away league wins following their success at Liverpool last time on the road.

Standing in their way will be recently appointed Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who takes charge of his second game since replacing Frank Lampard as the Blues’ sixth manager in as many years following a run that has seen the former champions slip towards mid-table.

The former Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager started life in England with a 0-0 draw against Wolves in mid-week – a third home league game without a win – while Burnley were beating Aston Villa 3-1.

That result means the Clarets remain eight points clear of the bottom three and just one point behind Wolves in 14th place in the table following Saturday’s fixtures.

The Burnley squad has been further lifted with four senior players signing new contracts on the eve of the trip to Chelsea.

And full-back Matt Lowton – who joined Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Erik Pieters and Kevin Long in agreeing an extended stay – is looking to keep the revival going.

“We didn’t have the best start, but we’ve picked up superbly recently. We’ve picked up some big points and some big wins again and we just keep motoring on as we do,” he said.

Team news

Defender Charlie Taylor remains a doubt for the Clarets, who will also check on Ashley Barnes and Josh Brownhill after the midfielder injured a foot in Burnley’s mid-week win over Aston Villa.

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has returned to training after missing five games with a hamstring injury and could feature.

Form guide

The Clarets head back to the capital on the back of a hat-trick of wins in league and cup. Sean Dyche’s men are looking to make it four in a row for the first time since January 2019.

Burnley have won their last two away games at Liverpool and Fulham. The Clarets have lost only four times in 13 Premier League games since a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea at the end of October.

Ninth-placed Chelsea have won just two of their last nine league matches and are without a win in three at Stamford Bridge.

Opposition camp

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel: “You can play the game however you want and it is every manager’s and every club's choice to adapt to a certain style and to impose a certain style. We have to find solutions, it's as easy as that.

"It's my job to adapt to this and we expect Burnley to be a very solid squad, a very structured 4-4-2 normally, a very defensive and disciplined block, and this is fair enough.

“This is how they play, this is how they play in the first division and this is how they get their results. It’s on us and it’s a big challenge again.”

Match stats

Clarets midfielder Jack Cork could face his former club on the back of racking up his 500th club game in Burnley’s win over Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Team-mate Robbie Brady is one short of 250 career league appearances. He has currently made 76 appearances for the Clarets, 59 for Norwich City and 114 for Hull City.

Erik Pieters is in line to make his 250th appearance in English football in all competitions, having previously played 206 times for Stoke City.

Chris Wood’s mid-week winner was his 15th headed goal in the Premier League since he joined Burnley in 2017. Only England captain Harry Kane has matched that figure.

Sean Dyche’s men have kept five clean sheets away from home, the joint highest total in the league along with Arsenal and Aston Villa. Chelsea will attempt to avoid going three successive league matches without a goal for the first time since December 2015.

Referee

Graham Scott

VAR

Michael Oliver

**Kick-off **

Sunday 12 noon

Broadcast

BT Sport

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