Frank Lampard’s high-flying Chelsea side currently find themselves in an excellent position in the league, mostly owing to the brilliant showings being put up by some of the youngsters on displays. Despite going up against last season’s Champions League semifinalists in Ajax, the Blues came up trumps with a surprise 1-0 victory. Although Michy Batshuayi’s winner came in the final minutes of the tie, Blues fans will feel that they deserved to win from the start.
Coming to this tie on the back of a 6-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, the Blues will be confident of travelling to Turf Moor and returning with maximum points. With that said though, beating Burnley is no walk in the park. Although they suffered a defeat at the hands of Leicester City last weekend, they did have a good run going on before that, which means that Sean Dyche’s men will be raring to get back on the right track.
Team News
The Blues are going to travel to Turf Moor without N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger available for selection. Frank Lampard has confirmed that neither player will be ready in time for the clash against Burnley, which means that they will join the likes of Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the sidelines. English midfielder Ross Barkley, who picked up an unfortunate knock in their last league game against Newcastle, could also be in contention to start at Turf Moor.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Despite the Blues’ defensive fragility at the start of the season, it does look like Frank Lampard’s side have come a long way since then. Having managed to keep two consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, for the first time since April, there has been a growing sense of security around the defensive pairing at Stamford Bridge. Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori have been consistently impressive over the last few months, and even when Rudiger does return from injury, he certainly isn’t going to be assured a place in the side.
Azpilicueta is the Chelsea skipper. Although Reece James has been extremely highly-rated, it doesn’t look like he’s going to displace the Spaniard in the Chelsea starting lineup anytime soon. Added to this, Emerson’s return from injury could also come as positive news for Frank Lampard. The Italian international’s absence from the first-team scene has worked out well for Marcos Alonso, who could drop to the bench for the weekend.
Midfield
Another vital part of this Chelsea setup has been their two midfield anchors running the show from in and around the centre circle. Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic seem completely set in their respective positions, and with some excellent displays over the last few weeks, there’s no reason why Lampard wouldn’t choose to stick to the pair. Despite Barkley’s potential return to fitness, expect the core of the Chelsea team to remain the same.
Mason Mount began the fixture against Ajax in a left-sided midfielder’s role, alongside Jorginho and Kovacic, in an attempt to nullify the sheer athleticism of the Ajax midfield. He is expected to move back to his regular position, just in behind the striker. He will be supported on either side by the usual suspects – Willian and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Attack
There has never really been any doubt about who the first-choice striker at Chelsea is, and despite Michy Batshuayi’s late winner against Ajax, Tammy Abraham is expected to keep his place for the trip to Burnley. Although the striker didn’t have the best of outings against the Dutch champions, Lampard is highly unlikely to drop the striker who he has praised on so many occasions. Currently sitting pretty atop the Premier League Golden Boot charts as well, it would be a surprise not to see his name on the scoresheet.
