Seven months ago, 38 hurdles stood stubbornly on Chelsea FC’s path to this season’s Premier League glory. And the first hurdle was Burnley FC at Turf Moor. To successfully navigate that hurdle, Jose Mourhino opted to field his new squad members, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Thibaut Courtois, and to start Andre Schürrle ahead of Willian.
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Even though Chelsea was already billed as favorites to win the match, there was a scary sense of an upset when Burnley took the lead through Scott Arfield, whose blazing long-range shot eluded Thibaut Courtois. Before long, however, Chelsea leveled through a simple tap-in by Diego Costa, took the lead through a cutely crafted second goal by Schürrle from a Fabregas assist, and took full command of the game through Branislav Ivanovic’s header.
It was only that single weekend before their mid-week game with Burnley that Chelsea was never top of the table this season and that was just because other teams had their matches scheduled ahead of Chelsea’s. After thrashing Burnley at Turf Moor, Chelsea has led the league from the front, even managing to stay on top by alphabetical order after being humiliated 5-3 by Tottenham on New Year’s Day.
Twenty-five hurdles are already removed, with Chelsea losing in only 2 matches. There are now thirteen hurdles to go and the next one is Burnley at Stamford Bridge. And for Burnley, the fixture has come at the wrong time. A time when Chelsea must win every Premier League match to remain assured of the title come May. A time when Chelsea must beat Burnley and worsen the relegation wounds already suffered by the Clarets.
On paper, Burnley FC does not look like a real threat to Chelsea’s run to the EPL title. Struggling fruitlessly to get out of the relegation zone, week-in week-out, Burnley has experienced hugely dismal performances recently; having only achieved its last win at Turf Moor against QPR on 10/01/2015 and lost four of its last five matches. In fact, Burnley’s case is not helped by its poor record on the road, having achieved just a single shutout in its last 31 away trips in the Premier League.
Moreover, holding onto points has worryingly eluded the Clarets of late. They have blown away two-goal leads in 3 of their last 5 encounters, and even when Danny Ings had drawn them level against Manchester United in their last outing, their defense simply buckled and threw away all the points in a 3-1 defeat. And with just one win in 11 outings, the Clarets are definitely set to be a small and easy-to-navigate hurdle for the Blues.
Chelsea holds an intimidating record of 16 clean sheets in the last 20 league matches played at Stamford Bridge. The record stands profoundly against the Clarets who have never won a league game at Stamford Bridge since 1971. And with Chelsea going into the game knowing really well that Manchester City will be facing an easy fixture against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium, it is almost unlikely that Danny Ings’ recent goal-scoring exploits will help Burnley to snatch a point from the league leaders.
Nevertheless, going by recent form, the fixture will not be that easy for Chelsea. The team has not looked so good of late. After an easy sweep against Swansea on January 15, Chelsea has never played again with so much confidence, accurate passing and consistent attacking threat. Liverpool was too good for the blues in the Capital One Cup and it took a stretch to extra time at Stamford Bridge before the match could be settled.
Manchester City visited Stamford Bridge and forced them to play most of the game defensively, while Aston Villa broke hours of goal drought in a match with the league leaders. Against Everton, Chelsea‘s seven-point lead over City was under threat for much of the game and until Willian scored in the 89th minute.
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With this recent dip in form, Burnley FC can walk into Stamford Bridge knowing that if they put in a good fight they can avoid a humiliating defeat. For them, avoiding a disgraceful loss is the most likely target in this game as a win or draw is almost unlikely against the title-chasers.
But for Chelsea, there is no room for mistakes. The Clarets must be dispatched as quickly as possible so that early preparations can begin for the Capital One Cup final. And it is in this match where Diego Costa must burry his suspension occasioned rustiness and begin to score goals as he cannot afford to travel to Wembley in a goal-shy form.
Jose Mourhino can also use this match to give more time to the new signing Juan Cuadrado, to allow Peter Cech to move closer to breaking the clean sheet record, and to give Kurt Zouma more game-time ahead of possible inclusion in the line-up for the Capital One Cup final against Tottenham. Whatever players the Chelsea manager decides to field, and whatever tactics he decides to use, Burnley should prove small-fry for the title-chasing Blues.