The last time the Premier League witnessed a Burnley vs Chelsea match, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic were on the scoresheet. The German scored twice, and the American scored once. Reece James, who has now become the captain of the team, was the one who opened the scoring at the Turf Moor.
That match ended 4-0 in favor of a Chelsea side that finished in third place that season and were quarter-finalists in the UEFA Champions League. Kai Havertz has moved on to Arsenal, and Christian Pulisic to AC Milan in the Italian Serie A.
Chelsea is a new side that has not fully adapted to the heavy wind of change that blew past Stamford Bridge in the 2022/23 season. Their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, looks lost for options as he struggles to piece together a new squad, half of which he had no hand in acquiring.
Conversely, Burnley has enjoyed a successful stint in the EFL Championship, English football’s second tier. With former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany as their manager, they breezed to the second-division title. They secured automatic promotion back to the Premier League on their first time asking. Now that they are back in the league, however, they have found things to be a little tougher than when they left it.
The Clarets have only been able to take one point from the fifteen that have been offered to them. In that time, they have conceded 13 goals and scored only four.
To be fair to them, they have faced Manchester City, champions of five of the last six Premier League seasons: Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. That is three of the Premier League’s big six in just five games since their return to the top flight. No newly promoted team has had such a tough run of fixtures this season.
As a result, they are languishing in 19th place, only helped by the fact that they have a game in hand and have a slightly better defense than their fellow promoted side Luton Town.
Their match against Chelsea on matchday 8 of the 2023/24 season will be an opportunity to try and get something out of a struggling Chelsea. The Blues are also one of the top sides of the Premier League but are currently operating on a similar level as Burnley. Both teams have promise, but there is no better time for Kompany to grab his first win and give the Turf Moor crowd something to cheer about.
Match Tickets
Burnley vs Chelsea tickets will go on sale in a couple of days on both clubs’ websites.
It is a match that Claret fans will want to see, especially with the promise of getting a win over the struggling Blues. Match-going fans will do well to monitor both teams’ websites for this reason, as the tickets are predicted to be sold out.
Those who cannot grab tickets via the websites can check out ticket reselling platforms like Seatsnet.com to get in touch with fans and organizations reselling their Burnley tickets or Chelsea tickets for various reasons.
The game occurs on 7 October 2023 at Turf Moor during the 3 P.M. kickoff time. Fans watching from home in the United Kingdom cannot catch the match on Sky Sports via their cable television subscription. However, the game could be aired on their streaming service. Fans watching from home must download the Sky Sports app, pay a subscription fee, and follow the game live.
TNT Sports is another streaming service that should carry the game. To access TNT Sports, fans must download the Discovery+ app on their smart television sets or streaming devices, pay a subscription fee, and follow the game live.
Team news
Vincent Kompany is losing five key players to injury and health crises. North Macedonian forward Darko Churlinov has been treating sepsis since June and has not participated in the Clarets’ 2023/24 season thus far. Two of the club’s new signings, Nathan Redmond and Michael Obafemi, are also on the sidelines.
Obafemi, like Churlinov, has not played for the Clarets this season. Redmond picked up an injury during the international break and is out for an unknown period of time. Kompany will be relieved by returning long-term Burnley servant Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson, who suffered muscle fatigue a little while ago and returned to training ahead of the Chelsea game.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have a plethora of injuries. Romeo Lavia is the latest player to join their growing injury list, leaving the club, which has a squad strength of 30, to look understaffed. He is expected back on 19 October 2023, but until then, Mauricio Pochettino will have to make do without the option of rotating him into matches.
However, Benoit Badiashile and Carney Chukwuemeka have returned to training, which is good news for the squad. Armando Broja is slowly being eased into the squad after nine months out. He could get a run against Burnley as Pochettino slowly builds up his match fitness to create competition between him and Nicolas Jackson.
Lineups
Guðmundsson will return to the starting lineup as well as Lyle Foster. The South African saw red for violent conduct in Burnley’s game against Nottingham Forest on matchday 5 and has served his three-game ban.
He returned against Luton Town and will keep his place for the Chelsea visit. The rest of the XI is likely to remain the same.
Burnley: Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Ramsey, Cullen, Brownhill; Guðmundsson, Foster, Koleosho
French fullback Malo Gusto is back in the squad after his red card against Aston Villa on matchday 6. The fullback, now the sole occupant of the right-back role since captain Reece James is out injured, will return to the starting lineup. Badiashile and Chukwuemeka will return to the matchday squad and could make substitute appearances.
The front four will likely remain the same for the last few weeks as Pochettino continues to welcome back more players from injury.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Caicedo, Gallagher; Sterling, Enzo Fernandez, Mudryk; Jackson
Prediction
Burnley have tried several systems this season and is expected to try another one against Chelsea. The Blues will also have the same mentality, and both managers may cancel out each other with their lineups. It will be down to sheer grit, and the home team could have more of it. This is because they are in the relegation zone and desperate to escape it.
In the end, Chelsea will rely on individual quality, and it is likely to come true for the five-time Premier League champions. However, a win is difficult to predict for Burnley, with a draw being their best outcome from this game. We, therefore, give this one to Chelsea.
Burnley 1 – 2 Chelsea