Chelsea had to sweat it out a bit to beat Luton Town in their midweek FA Cup encounter but in the end, Tuchel’s men had the legs to overpower the tiring home side.
Next up, the Blues take on Burnley in the Premier League and given that Sean Dyche’s side are playing at home, Chelsea will have to pull up their socks on Saturday.
The Blues have only a three-point lead at the third spot but they have two games in hand so Thomas Tuchel will not be sweating too much, in terms of Champions League qualification. Their form had seen a slump in recent weeks but they have somewhat managed to pull themselves back together with four wins out of their previous five matches across all competitions.
The forward players for Chelsea have been badly out of form and this could be a major cause of concern this weekend because Burnley are a side who can play some really defensive football at times. While their recent form has been good the Blues have only won two of their last six Premier League away games so there’s every chance the Stamford Bridge outfit might stumble at Turf Moor.
Chelsea team news vs Burnley:
The manager has been using a 3-4-2-1 system for most of the season but in some of the recent matches, Tuchel had chosen to play with a traditional back-four.
Romelu Lukaku after giving Chelsea the lead against Luton Town 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/S4lGRy2qKu
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 2, 2022
Against teams like Brighton and Spurs, Chelsea played with a 4-1-4-1 system while against Palace they had used a 4-2-3-1 system. But since Burnley are a defence heavy side, the manager will look to add more bodies in midfield so we expect a 3-4-2-1 formation on Saturday.
Burnley might have failed to win 25 of their last 28 Premier League games but they are very good at home so Tuchel will have to name his best starting line up.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek played in central defence against Luton Town but Thiago Silva will return to the side and will start alongside Rudiger. Malang Sarr might be the third central defender since Christensen, Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah are all injury doubts.
Azpilicueta and Christensen will go through late fitness tests and if they are not fit then Sarr is sure to get a start.
Kante and Mateo Kovacic will also return to the side replacing Jorginho and Saul Niguez in midfield.
Timo Werner was involved in all three of Chelsea's goals tonight 💪 pic.twitter.com/BvfHRtP3zO
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) March 2, 2022
Both Timo Werner and Lukaku got back amongst the goals in midweek but we don’t think the German will get a start at Turf Moor. Lukaku’s goal vs Luton will help him gain a lot of confidence but it’s Luton we are talking about so the forward still has a lot of work to do if he wants to get back the form that he had shown at Inter.
Chelsea’s injuries before the Burnley game:
Azpilicueta – Knock – Late fitness test.
Christensen – Muscle injury – Late fitness test.
Hakim Ziyech – Muscle injury – Not likely to be fit.
Trevoh Chalobah – Groin injury – Doubtful.
Ben Chilwell – Ligament injury – Ruled out.
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Stats courtesy Fotmob.
