Sean Dyche – Ginger Mourinho Comes To Stamford Bridge

Chelsea FC have the chance to move past the disappointing performance (at least it was disappointing to me) against PSG as Burnley will be making the trip to SW6 on Saturday for their English Premier League clash. Burnley is currently managed by the man fondly called “Ginger Mourinho” by the fans, Sean Dyche. This fixture pits the league’s best attack against the league’s joint worst defence. It also features 2 of the league’s in-form strikers, Danny Ings and Diego Costa.

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Key Statistics

• Chelsea have scored a league high 55 goals, 4 more than the next highest scorers, Manchester City.
• They have also conceded the second lowest number of goals at 21 (4 more than Southampton) and have kept 12 clean sheets in their 25 games so far.
• At home, Chelsea have been invincible. They are yet to lose at Stamford Bridge, winning all but one of their 12 games, conceding just 4 goals and keeping 9 clean sheets in the process. A key feature of Chelsea’s home form is the fact that 6 of those 12 games have ended in 2-0 victories.
• Since the 5-3 capitulation at White Hart Lane on January 1st, Chelsea have won 4 and drawn one of their last 5 games, scoring 11 and conceding just twice. Only Liverpool have matched that record over the same period.
• Chelsea have the league’s top scorer, Diego Costa, who has 17 goals in 19 appearances, none coming from the spot, as well as the assist leader, Francesc Fabregas with 15 assists in 22 appearances.
• Eden Hazard tops the chart in terms of completed dribbles and fouls suffered, 112 and 74 respectively, and has scored 9 goals and 5 assists. He is also one of 3 players to have started every game for Chelsea so far.

• Burnley have conceded the joint highest number of goals at 43, same as Queen’s Park Rangers. They have also scored 24 goals, better than 4 other teams and same as the number scored by West Bromwich Albion. They have managed just 5 clean sheets so far.
• Away from home, they have been pretty poor, with just one win (a 2-1 victory at Stoke City), 4 draws and 7 defeats. 11 goals have been scored in those 12 games with 25 conceded, keeping just one clean sheet.
• Of the 13 games they haven’t lost, 3 have come against teams currently in the top 4. They defeated Southampton (1-0) at home while securing home and away draws against Manchester United (0-0) and City (2-2) respectively.
• They have lost 3 of their last 5 matches (2 away), winning and drawing one each (both at home). This puts them on 16th place in the form table over the same number of matches, better than Sunderland, Leicester, QPR and Aston Villa.
• Danny Ings, their 21-year old British striker, leads the team in both goals (9) and assists (4) in his 22 appearances. He is currently on a fantastic run of form, scoring 5 goals in his last 6 matches.
• Jason Shackell, the team’s captain, is second only to Wes Morgan of Leicester City in shots blocked (32 to 35). He has also attempted 282 clearances, the most in the EPL and is one of 2 outfield players that has started every game for the team.

Team News

Chelsea’s Possible Starting Line-up

In his post-match press conference after the UCL game against PSG, Mourinho stated that he was forced to select 5 injured players, naming Fabregas, Oscar, Willian, Ivanovic and Hazard. Only Oscar didn’t start the game so he will be expected to line up behind Diego Costa, who returns after missing the last 3 games due to suspension. Hazard has started every EPL game and is expected to retain his spot, same as Terry and Ivanovic, but Willian may have to sit out this game after his indifferent showing against PSG, with Cuadrado coming in.

Sean Dyche does not usually set up his team to play defensively. But against Chelsea, bottom half sides tend to sit back and try to hit them on the break. So in anticipation of such a situation, Mourinho would most likely take advantage of Zouma’s pace to combat the threat of Ings, meaning that Cahill, whose poor form continued against PSG, may sit this game out.

Burnley’s Possible Starting Line-up

Injuries permitting, Sean Dyche is likely to field the same players who have played most of Burnley’s games this season. Dean Marney is likely to return after sitting out last week’s 3-1 defeat against Manchester United while Scott Arfield will return to his left-midfield role in place of Michael Kightly, who returns to the bench.

Key Players

Chelsea have struggled to create scoring chances in recent games due to the absence of Francesc Fabregas. He has been the team’s most creative force, setting up 26 goals for Chelsea in all tournaments, 15 coming in the EPL alone, meaning he is on course to break Henry’s assist record for a season which stands at 20. He has also chipped in 4 goals (2 in the EPL) as well. Until the UCL game against PSG on Tuesday, he had created scoring chances in every game he has played so far and without him in the team, Chelsea have lacked that cutting edge in the final third as no other player in the team has his ability to spot a passing chance at every opportunity or the technical ability to execute the pass perfectly.

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Without the goals of Danny Ings, Burnley would probably be at the bottom of the table and most likely to get relegated. The fact that they are just one win away from Sunderland, who are in 15th place, has been down to him. With the team shipping in goals aplenty at the other end, his goals have been massive for the team. He has also been the team’s most creative player, setting up 4 goals for his team mates in the EPL. His pace, movement along the channels and ability in the air make him a difficult proposition for almost any defender. His contract will be expiring at the end of the season and he isn’t likely to sign an extension with the club, meaning that one of the top EPL sides is likely to secure him for a relatively small fee. But one thing is certain… Burnley will miss him when he leaves!

Expectations

In spite of the defeat they suffered in last weekend’s game, Sean Dyche would have been impressed with his team’s showing as they were the better side for most of the game but were unfortunately undone by some silly defensive errors and poor finishing. But facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is a daunting task for any team, not to talk of a team currently second from bottom on the table. Burnley have the advantage of having not played any game since last weekend, while Chelsea have to deal with the fatigue associated with the mid-week trip to France and the small squad size.

In the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season at Turf Moor, Chelsea secured a comfortable 3-1 victory (with goals from Costa, Schurrle and Ivanovic) after going down to a sumptuous early strike from Scott Arfield. So expect Chelsea to equal or even better that result on Saturday.

Next: Eden Hazard Needs More Protection