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Chelsea logo
Premier League
Feb 21, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Burnley logo

1-1

Ivanovic (14')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Mee (81')

Preview: Chelsea vs. Burnley

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge as the Blues look to go 10 points clear at the top of the table.

Chelsea turn their attention back to the Premier League title race on Saturday when they host relegation-threatened Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues lead Manchester City by seven points at the top of the table and are also in a rosy position in the Champions League thanks to Branislav Ivanovic's goal in Paris.

Although the Serbian's first-half header was cancelled out by Edinson Cavani at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, the 1-1 draw gives Chelsea a slight advantage over Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the second leg of their last-16 tie in London on March 11.

Chelsea's productive trip to France was marred by an ugly scene involving a group of their supporters racially abusing a black man as he tried to board the Paris Metro.

The club have condemned their actions as "abhorrent" and have managed to identify and suspend three of those involved. FIFA president Sepp Blatter and prime minister David Cameron have also reacted strongly to the 'shocking' incident.

Jose Mourinho himself had some stern post-match words for PSG in regards to their treatment of Eden Hazard, who was fouled a season-high nine times as the Ligue 1 champions enforced a hostile welcome upon the Belgian.

Hazard is the most fouled player in both the Premier League and Champions League this term, and Mourinho has pleaded for referees to give him greater protection by punishing those who take an overly-physical approach against him.

The unflustered playmaker will be back on his feet to feature in the Chelsea starting lineup this weekend, although Mourinho could make changes elsewhere.

Oscar is likely to be restored at the expense of Ramires, with Cesc Fabregas dropping into a deeper midfield role. Gary Cahill's place is under severe threat from Kurt Zouma and the young Frenchman may get the nod for the visit of the Clarets.

Behind him, Thibaut Courtois's midweek performance again justified Mourinho's decision to prefer him to Petr Cech, even after the more experienced of the two goalkeepers was lauded for his role in the late victory over Everton.

Burnley have had 10 days off due to their non-involvement in the FA Cup and thus Sean Dyche's usual suspects will be well refreshed for their trip to the capital.

A season-ending injury to midfielder Dean Marney forced 'The Ginger Mourinho' to alter his Premier League team for the first time in 10 games in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.

He could revert to naming an unchanged side as Burnley continue their horror run of eight successive games against top-half teams, with Michael Kightly maintained on the wing. Matt Taylor and Stephen Ward are still sidelined with injury.

Considering their daunting fixture list, Dyche will perhaps still be ruing the points dropped when surrendering two-goal leads against West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, results which have left Burnley 19th and a point from safety.

Letting leads slip is not a new problem for the Clarets. Their fairytale return to the Premier League started with them going one up against Chelsea at Turf Moor on the opening day of the season, before the Blues turned things around for a 3-1 win.

Chelsea:

Form in Premier League: LWWDWW
Form in all competitions: LDDWWD

Possible starting lineup: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Oscar, Willian; Costa

Burnley:

Form in Premier League: DWLLDL
Form in all competitions: WLLLDL

Possible starting lineup: Heaton; Trippier, Shackell, Keane, Mee; Boyd, Arfield, Jones, Kightly; Barnes, Ings

Sports Mole says: 3-0


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Written by
Joe Fish
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13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
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20Southampton1512121131-205


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