TEAM NEWS
Ben Gibson has stepped up his comeback after a hernia problem but remains sidelined, while Aaron Lennon has a virus and could miss out. Burnley welcome back Robbie Brady for the first time since he suffered a knee tendon injury last December.
Chelsea top scorer Eden Hazard is a fitness doubt after suffering a back injury against Manchester United. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is pushing for a start after scoring a hat-trick in the Blues’ Europa League win over BATE.
MOTD COMMENTATOR’S NOTES
@Guymowbray: The cameras will pick out the chimneys of the terraced rows and someone will probably say that it’s “a difficult place to come”, but the facts belie the usual Burnley clichés. In reality, Sean Dyche’s side hasn’t fared that well against the Premier League elite, with very rare exceptions such as beating Chelsea at the start of last season.
For that to happen again, everything has to be right for the Clarets, while Maurizio Sarri’s unbeaten Blues will have to be off colour. Burnley last beat Chelsea at home in the top flight in 1973 thanks to a goal from Frank Casper. It would be bordering on spooky to lay that ghost in Halloween week!
VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT
Burnley manager Sean Dyche on Eden Hazard: “The real big sides don’t just have one (star player), trust me. Chelsea are a fine outfit – you saw that against BATE Borisov; they made eight changes and you saw what happened, still a very, very strong outfit.
“We certainly don’t rely on what might happen with one player but you’ve got to be aware of how good some of those players are and he’s certainly right up there.”
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
Sean Dyche’s side put up a decent fight against Manchester City last week until the defending champions got their second goal, and you just know that they will work hard and be difficult to beat.
Prediction: 1-1
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Chelsea’s only defeat in eight Premier League games against Burnley was by 3-2 at home on the opening day of last season (W5, D2).
- Burnley have not beaten Chelsea at Turf Moor since a 3-0 second tier victory in April 1983.
- Chelsea have kept only two clean sheets in their 36 top-flight away matches against Burnley, in goalless draws in 1963 and 1970.
Burnley
- Burnley have earned seven points from their last four games, one more than they accrued from their previous 11 league matches.
- The Clarets have let in 17 goals in nine league games; it took them 20 fixtures to concede as many in 2017-18.
- They have been beaten in six of their last seven home Premier League games played on Sunday, losing each of the last four.
- The 3-2 victory at Chelsea on the opening day of last season is Burnley’s only triumph in 25 Premier League matches against the established top-six teams.
Chelsea
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their opening nine top-flight games for only the fifth time, a run that includes their title-winning seasons of 2005-06 and 2014-15.
- Maurizio Sarri could become the first Chelsea boss to remain unbeaten in his first 10 Premier League matches in charge.
- The Blues are the only Premier League side yet to fall behind in an away match this season.
- Nine of their 20 league goals this season have been scored in the final 15 minutes of matches.
- Ross Barkley could become the first Englishman to score in three consecutive top-flight games for Chelsea since Frank Lampard in February 2013.
Source: BBC News
