Chelsea and Burnley face off in this weekend’s Saturday lunchtime kickoff with the Blues looking to keep their good form in the Premier League while the hosts are looking to bounce back following two defeats in a row.
The visitors currently sit third in the Premier League table on 20 points, six points behind leaders Arsenal but a win in Lancashire will move them up to second for at least a few hours as Manchester City visit Newcastle in the late Saturday match.
Ahead of a big week with fixtures at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday and back in the Premier League against Arsenal on Sunday, it will be interesting to see what kind of lineup Enzo Maresca goes with for tomorrow’s match.
Unlike Chelsea, Burnley have only got one thing to be focusing on and that is trying to survive in the Premier League.
The Clarets sit in 17th, only above West Ham due a superior goal difference.
Manager Scott Parker admitted though his side are currently in an unbelievable place, being sat on 10 points after 11 games, they need to improve on the final details at certain moments if they are to get more points on the board.
Chelsea
It seemed that Cole Palmer was nearing a return after he posted an Instagram story yesterday of a photo of himself in the dressing room pre- match with the timer emojis attached.
However, Enzo Maresca revealed in his press conference on Friday morning that Palmer wouldn’t be available for the trip to Turf Moor, the Barcelona and Arsenal games due to a fractured toe suffered in an accident at home. He has not played since coming off after 20 minutes in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United due to a groin problem. Maresca did admit that Palmer was close to being back prior to the toe issue.
In a more positive update, defender Benoît Badiashile is back in training after recovering from the muscle injury he suffered in the win over Liverpool on October 4th.
Pedro Neto has recovered from the groin injury he suffered late on against Wolves, whilst Enzo Fernández is also available after missing international duty to try and recover from a knee issue.
Maresca also confirmed Moisés Caicedo returned from international duty with Ecuador on Thursday night and has suffered no issues despite playing 180 minutes over the break in friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.
Burnley
Parker has revealed that despite both suffering issues on international duty, Armando Broja and Quilindschy Hartman are in contention for this weekend’s match.
Broja was stretchered off in the 2-0 defeat to England but the manager revealed that his ankle was fine.
Hartman had been suffering with illness while away with the Netherlands but he has also recovered.
Players to watch
Chelsea: Estêvão
Estêvão is becoming a fan favourite Chelsea and for Brazil. He scored in both games for Brazil during the international break, the opener in a 2-0 win against Senegal at the Emirates, and the equaliser from the penalty spot in a 1-1 draw with Tunisia in Lille.
He has scored five goals in his last eight appearances for club and country.
With 0.90, the 18-year-old has the most non-penalty xG+xA per 90 out of anyone in the top five leagues.
Considering the form that he is in, it will be interesting to see if Maresca starts Estêvão or continues with Pedro Neto on that right hand side.
Burnley: Zian Flemming
Signed permanently from Millwall this summer, it has taken Zian Flemming a while to get up to speed but the Dutchman has found a good bit of form with 3 league goals in his last three games.
Burnley are not going to be a team that dominates possession in many of their games, highlighted by the fact that they hold the lowest average possession of any team in the division with 38.4%. Therefore, when the opportunities do come to Flemming he has to take them.
Scott Parker mentioned small margins helping Burnley to get more points, Fleming continuing to score goals is one of those margins that will help massively.
Match Details
What time is kick-off?
The game is scheduled to kickoff at 12:30pm.
Where is the game taking place?
It will take place at Turf Moor in Burnley.
How can I watch?
The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports.