Chelsea travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon looking to claim their third successive victory in all competitions.
The Clarets, meanwhile, are also in buoyant mood after picking up their first three points of the new season in a 2-1 win at Luton Town on Tuesday.
Match preview
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After cantering to the Championship title last season, securing promotion at the first attempt after accumulating a whopping 101 points, Burnley have taken their time adjusting to life back in the Premier League, but they managed to claim their first victory at the seventh time of asking against fellow new boys Luton.
The Clarets appeared to be heading for a share of the spoils when Elijah Adebayo netted an 84th-minute equaliser for the Hatters to cancel out Lyle Foster's first-half opener, but the visitors' lead was restored just a minute later courtesy of a stunning strike into the top corner from Jacob Bruun Larsen.
Vincent Kompany commended his side's never-say-die attitude en route to snatching three important points, and the Belgian boss will hope that their maiden win can act as a springboard for positive change in their quest to avoid the drop; the Clarets currently sit 18th in the Premier League table, level on points with both Luton and Everton just outside the relegation zone.
Burnley will certainly take steps in the right direction if they can improve their home form as they have started the new campaign with four successive losses at Turf Moor; only four teams in top-flight history – Manchester United (1930-31), Portsmouth (2009-10), Bolton Wanderers (2011-12) and Newcastle United (2018-19) have ever lost their first five home matches in a single season.
Improvements in defence are also required for the Clarets as they have already conceded 16 goals and have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven league games this term, but keeping Chelsea quiet on Saturday could prove challenging as the Blues have scored in each of their last 16 Premier League meetings with the Lancashire-based club, winning 11 times in the process.
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Chelsea will have their tails up heading to Turf Moor after following up their EFL Cup third-round win over Brighton & Hove Albion with a 2-0 victory away against West London rivals Fulham on Monday.
A first Blues goal for Mykhaylo Mudryk inside the opening 18 minutes was followed just 82 seconds later by a strike from Armando Broja, who made the net ripple for the first time in almost a year following a lengthy injury layoff, to hand Mauricio Pochettino his first away win as Chelsea boss.
Ending a three-game winless and scoreless streak in the top flight is all well and good, but there is still plenty of work to do for Pochettino and co as they endeavour to firstly cement their place in the top half of the Premier League before eyeing up the European spots; the Blues currently sit 11th in the table with eight points, four clear of Saturday's opponents Burnley in the bottom three and five points adrift of West Ham United in seventh.
Chelsea can ill-afford to drop points in a favourable-looking fixture against Burnley and must build on Monday's positive result before they embark on a tricky run of top-flight fixtures against Arsenal, Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton and Manchester United after the international break.
The Blues have only claimed maximum points in three of their last 14 Premier League away games since the turn of the year, but they have won each of their last five visits to Turf Moor by an aggregate score of 17-3, including a comfortable 4-0 success in their most recent trip to Burnley in March 2022.
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Burnley are still having to cope without Michael Obafemi (hamstring), Nathan Redmond (knock) and Darko Churlinov (blood poisoning), while Saturday's game will also come too soon for Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf), Manuel Benson (knock) and Hjalmar Ekdal (knee).
Kompany is not expected to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, with a back four of Connor Roberts, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jordan Beyer and Charlie Taylor set to line up behind midfield trio Josh Brownhill, Josh Cullen and Sander Berge.
After scoring the winner on Tuesday, Bruun Larsen will hope to start his first Premier League game in the front three, but Foster, Luca Koleosho and Zeki Amdouni are the most likely trio to continue in attack.
As for Chelsea, Ben Chilwell is ruled out until December with a hamstring injury and will join Christopher Nkunku, Wesley Fofana (both knee), Romeo Lavia (ankle) and Marcus Bettinelli (unspecified) on the sidelines, while Benoit Badiashile (hamstring), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) will all be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Reece James is closing in on a return from a hamstring injury, but he will serve a one-game ban this weekend for improper conduct, while fellow right-back Malo Gusto will serve the third and final game of his three-match suspension, meaning that left-back Marc Cucurella is set to continue on the right side of a back four.
Mudryk is fit to feature after shaking off a thigh issue, while Moises Caidedo sustained a knock to his knee in the win at Fulham, but he is available for selection on Saturday and should retain his place in centre-midfield alongside Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher.
Nicolas Jackson is available to return from a one-match ban and will compete with Borja for a start up front, while Cole Palmer, who like Broja impressed against Fulham, will hope to keep his place on the right flank; Raheem Sterling, meanwhile, will look to replace Mudryk on the left.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Berge, Cullen, Brownhill; Koleosho, Foster, Amdouni
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Cucurella, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling
We say: Burnley 0-1 Chelsea
Although Chelsea are plagued with injuries, Pochettino will have faith in the young crop at his disposal to get the job done against Burnley and enter the international break on a high, but the same can be said for Kompany following his side's midweek success.
The Clarets must tighten up at the back if they are to come away with some form of positive result on Saturday having already shipped 12 goals in four home games this season, but we believe that the Blues will do enough to claim a slender win on their travels.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
