While many will be confident that Chelsea will pick up all three points against Burnley in the Premier League, this fixture has been a banana skin at Stamford Bridge before.
It will be Liam Rosenior’s first outing against the Clarets this season, after Enzo Maresca led the Blues to a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor.
The new manager remains unbeaten in the Premier League so far, although is constantly under pressure from the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool for the Champions League places this season.
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Mamadou Sarr in his Chelsea training top at Cobham as he begins to make an impression on the coaching staff.
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Liam Rosenior must end Chelsea’s dodgy record at Stamford Bridge vs Burnley
A fixture against 19th in the table should not normally be one to fear, however Chelsea’s record, particularly at Stamford Bridge, against Burnley is something that the manager must be addressing.
The last two times the Blues have faced them at home, they have been held to underwhelming draws. Cole Palmer’s brace against their 10-man opponents was not enough to get them over the line in 2024.
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Before that, they were held to a 1-1 draw in November 2021, bringing an end to a run of seven consecutive victories for the league leaders at the time.
It is in fact just two wins from five games in West London against Burnley for Chelsea, a record which does not fit in with their overall record against them in recent years.
The Blues are unbeaten in 12 overall against them, with that run extending back to 2017, where they were beaten at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season as reigning champions.
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Jesse Derry set to be rewarded for Chelsea vs Burnley after missing from Under-21s clash
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Liam Rosenior must resist chance to rotate vs Burnley
Facing a side in the bottom three does on paper give Rosenior the chance to rotate his side. This was the risk he took when they faced West Ham earlier this month.
This particular gamble didn’t pay off, and it wasn’t until Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana entered the fray that they were able to turn things around.
After an eight-day gap since their last game, the opportunity is there to play a strong squad with the intention of making a statement to their other top-four contenders.
There is a chance that Jesse Derry is included in the matchday squad after he was absent from the U21s game against Leeds, where Romeo Lavia made his first appearance since early November.
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