Burnley vs. Chelsea
Venue: Turf Moor
Kick off: 1:30PM
Unbeaten Chelsea make the trip to Burnley this afternoon with the aim of keeping pace with the Premier League’s top two.
The Blues have been held in three of their last four top-flight outings, but they trail Manchester City and Liverpool by just a couple of points heading into this weekend’s fixtures.
Maurizio Sarri can become the first Chelsea boss to remain unbeaten across his first 10 Premier League matches should the Blues dodge defeat in East Lancashire today.
That would be quite the start for a manager who pleaded for time before a ball had even been kicked this term, citing a shortened pre-season and some upheaval from the Antonio Conte regime that he feared would carry into this season.
Chelsea have instead hit the ground running, despite a completely different style of play to what we have become accustomed to in the Roman Abramovich era, finding themselves within touching distance of top spot nearly three months into the campaign.
The Blues have gone nine games unbeaten at the start of a top-flight season on five previous occasions, including in 2005-06 and 2014-15 when lasting the distance and lifting the trophy.
Matching the feat of compatriot Conte, who won the Premier League title in his maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge, may not have been on Sarri’s agenda when putting pen to paper in the summer, but should his side continue their good form then a rethink will be required.
Even last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United had a positive spin to it, as Ross Barkley popped up in the sixth minute of added time to rescue the Blues a share of the spoils.
That dramatic draw made it two in a row for Chelsea on home soil in the league, with Liverpool claiming a point at the end of September, but the Blues regained their momentum with a 3-1 win against BATE Borisov in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Minus injured forward Eden Hazard and tired playmaker Jorginho, Sarri made eight changes to Hazard arting lineup and was rewarded with a positive display from his fringe players, namely English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Loftus-Cheek bagged three goals on the night to all but secure Chelsea’s place in the last 32 of the competition, while at the same time making it 13 matches without defeat for Sarri since the Community Shield loss to Man City. With no more big-six rivals to face for another month, the ex-champions’ run may go on and on.
Burnley possible XI: Hart, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Gudmundsson, Defour, Cork, Brady, Hendrick, Vokes
Chelsea possible XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Morata, Hazard.