Chelsea vs. Burnley
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 3pm
Nigerian international, Victor Moses will today serve his one-ban as Chelsea begin the defence of their Premier League title with a meeting against Burnley at Stamford Bridge today, aiming to build on their impressive opening-day record of previous years.
Moses will sit this one out after picking up a red card in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal last May.
Chelsea new signings Antonio Rudiger is expected to take his place in the wing back.
The Blues have claimed more points (54) on matchday one than any other side in the competition’s history, while the visitors are at the opposite end of the spectrum after losing all three of their past openers.
However, there is a sense around Stamford Bridge heading into the new campaign that all is not quite right. Boss Antonio Conte, very much the hero in his maiden campaign outside of Italian football, has made clear that he is not entirely happy with his side’s transfer dealings to date.
For Burnley, they won 10 of their home games in all last term, two more than top-four challengers Manchester United, while accruing 33 of their 40 points on Lancashire soil. That it took until a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on April 29 to pick up their first away victory says an awful lot.
Many bookmakers have Burnley among those to face to drop this campaign, which is not all that surprising when taking into account their transfer business, though Sean Dyche is the type of manager who has proved in the past that he can thrive off the underdog nature.
Only time will tell on that front, but with a fairly tough start to kick things off – Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton in succession on their travels up to October 1 – it may be a long year ahead for Dyche & Co.
Chelsea Possible XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Cahill, Alonso; Fabregas, Kante; Willian, Morata, Pedro.
Burnley Possible XI: Heaton; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Ward; Arfield, Cork, Hendrick, Brady; Vokes, Walters.