Chelsea welcome Burnley to Stamford Bridge for yet another Premier League encounter, with stakes still high as European football aspirations remain on the line.
Fresh off a thrilling 4-2 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup that secured them a semi-final spot against Manchester City, Mauricio Pochettino’s side return to league action, determined to keep their momentum going. With just 11 games left in the PL and trailing behind the likes of West Ham and Manchester United, Chelsea have no other option but to make every match count.
Date / Time: Saturday, March 30, 2024, 15.00 GMT; 11am EDT; 8:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Darren England (on pitch); John Brooks (VAR)
Forecast: Sunny intervals and light winds
On TV: none (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport MaXimo 1, Canal+ Sport 4 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: none (UK); Peacock (USA); Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
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Chelsea team news: While the Blues still struggle to find clean sheets — the last of which achieved on January 26th, in our goalless FA Cup draw to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge —, the winds of good results remain in our favour this month. In fact we can very well close out March unbeaten, which would replicate Graham Potter’s feat last season.
As it’s been the case over the last few years, Chelsea will be missing almost an entire starting lineup of players due to injury. Goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, defenders Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Reece James, midfielders Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu, and attackers Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chuwuemeka are all unavailable.
Ben Chilwell suffered a knock on his knee during the international break with England, and his situation will be assessed before the match. Same goes for Malo Gusto, who removed himself from France’s U21 squad due to illness; and Enzo Fernández, who arrived late from the international window after playing for the Argentinian national team.
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Burnley team news: The Clarets’ return to the Premier League after a season in the Championship, hasn’t been an easy ride. With 17 points in 29 games and a -34 goal difference, to say they have an uphill battle climbing out of the relegation zone — a climb made a little easier by Everton and Nottingham Forest losing points due to breaching the league’s profit and sustainability rules — would be an understatement.
Burnley don’t have as full of a medical department as ours, although they are still missing a bunch of important players. Attackers Aaron Ramsey, Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond are all out with long-term fitness problems. At the back, Jordan Beyer and Ameen Al-Dakhil are doubtful to feature.
Their attacking woes will worsen, as Chelsea loanee David Datro Fofana won’t be able to play against his parent club. The young striker has done extremely well since arriving at Turf Moor last January, scoring four goals and assisting once in eight matches.
Previously: Four goals at Turf Moor, to overcome Burnley’s early lead.