Chelsea will be bidding to make it three Premier League victories in a row when they travel to Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon to take on Burnley.
The Blues are currently third in the table, 16 points behind leaders Manchester City with two games in hand, while Burnley occupy 18th, one point from 17th-placed Everton ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
Match preview
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Burnley's recent form has been impressive, picking up seven points from three matches against Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace between February 19 and February 26, but they will enter this match off the back of a disappointing 2-0 home loss to Leicester City on Tuesday.
The result left the Clarets in 18th position in the table, one point behind 17th-placed Everton, who have a game in hand, while they are just two points behind 16th-placed Leeds United and have a match spare on the Whites.
Newcastle United have propelled themselves up the table in recent weeks, but Brentford and Leeds will certainly both be looking over their shoulders at a vital stage of the campaign, and Burnley have a huge match away to Brentford next weekend before opening April at home to Manchester City.
Sean Dyche's side have only won three Premier League matches this season, which is the worst record in the division, but they have only lost four of their 12 fixtures at Turf Moor, drawing six times in the process.
Burnley have also not beaten Chelsea in the Premier League since August 2017, when they won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in London earlier this season, with Matej Vydra netting late to cancel out a first-half effort from Kai Havertz.
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Chelsea have not actually been in Premier League action since February 19, when they recorded a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace, but the Blues have played three times since that fixture at Selhurst Park.
Indeed, they recorded a 2-0 win over Lille in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash on February 22 before losing on penalties to Liverpool in last weekend's EFL Cup final, which finished goalless.
Thomas Tuchel's side were back to winning ways in the FA Cup on Wednesday, recording a 3-2 victory at Luton Town to progress to the quarter-finals, and they will now switch their attention back to the Premier League, with the capital side looking to make it three wins in a row in England's top flight.
A record of 50 points from 25 matches has left the Blues in third spot in the table, three points ahead of fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand, while they have two matches spare on leaders Man City, who are 16 points ahead of them at the summit.
Chelsea have been impressive on their travels in the league this term, picking up 27 points from 13 matches, while they have never lost a Premier League match at Turf Moor, which has been a happy hunting ground for them in recent seasons.
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Team News
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Burnley will again be without the services of Erik Pieters, Dale Stephens, Matej Vydra and Johann Berg Gudmundsson on Saturday, while Ben Mee is a major doubt due to the knee problem that he suffered against Leicester last time out.
Dyche said during his pre-match press conference that it is "touch and go" as to whether the central defender makes the match, but it does appear that he is likely to be available.
Wout Weghorst has impressed since his arrival in January and will continue in the final third of the field alongside Maxwel Cornet, with Aaron Lennon set to feature off the right.
As for Chelsea, Ben Chilwell is out for the remainder of the season following a knee operation, while Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta are unlikely to be available, but Hakim Ziyech and Trevoh Chalobah should both be in the squad.
Chalobah suffered a groin problem against Liverpool, which led to him needing stitches, but the centre-back is expected to be available for this match and could come into the back three.
Reece James featured off the bench against Luton and could now start at Burnley, while N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic should feature in central midfield.
Romelu Lukaku was on the scoresheet in the FA Cup last time out, and the Belgium international could be given the nod in the final third with support from Mason Mount and Kai Havertz.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Pope; Roberts, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Lennon, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil; Weghorst, Cornet
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Chalobah, T Silva, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso; Havertz, Lukaku, Mount
We say: Burnley 1-2 Chelsea
On paper, this is a very tough match for Chelsea, but the Blues have enjoyed their trips to Turf Moor in the Premier League, and we are expecting Tuchel's side to pick up another three points on Saturday afternoon.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 69.05%. A draw had a probability of 18.8% and a win for Burnley had a probability of 12.19%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 0-2 with a probability of 12.37%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (11.47%) and 1-2 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.92%), while for a Burnley win it was 1-0 (4.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Chelsea would win this match.
