Chelsea vs. Burnley predictions: Neither side on course for a high-scoring affair

Another bottom half – bottom five, in fact – comes to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea fans are petrified. Optimistic, but petrified.

Neither Chelsea nor Burnley are bringing a head of steam into this fixture, but for the first time in well over a month the Blues will be at least somewhat rested. With six days since their last game, Frank Lampard’s men should be able to run around – if not run over – Sean Dyche’s, en route to a win.

Scott Brant: Chelsea 2 – 0 Burnley. Chelsea should win this match. I don’t want to say “with ease” because it’s at home, but Burnley aren’t very good at all and the Blues have a crazy schedule looming in February.

Callum Hudson-Odoi will hopefully step up and have another stunner. It would be nice to put some space between the Blues and those teams chasing the top four. Tammy Abraham will join Hudson-Odoi on the scoresheet.

Kevin Peacock: 1 – 0. Chelsea at home against a mid-to-low table team = oh no!

Whichever one of Burnley’s goalkeepers plays, he will inevitably have one of those days when the ball just follows him. Sean Dyche’s side will up their game this week ahead of succumbing to a team much worse than them next week.

We’ve seen it so many times and, with ground to catch up in the unofficial, unpublished The Pride of London prediction league, it’s so tempting to go for a defeat. However, the yer da in me now kicks in, and of course Chelsea will win. It will be a struggle, but Tambraham gets them over the line with the only goal.

Nate Hofmann: 2 – 1. Chelsea wiped the floor with Sean Dyche’s men back in October.  That was the coming out party for Christian Pulisic, who is set for a spell in the stands with his adductor issue.

The good news, though, is that pantomime villain Ashley Barnes is also out with an injury, joining several other Claret attackers in the physio room. A well-rested and generally healthy Chelsea side should have no issue with a beaten up and out of form Burnley.

“Should” is the operative word, and Chelsea rarely provide performances that stick to the expected script, but Tammy Abraham and Willian should be enough to secure all three points.

Barrett Rouen: 2 – 1. Scott chose 2-0, and I think that’s slightly more likely. But the Blues can’t defend properly and Ashley Barnes eats their kind of ridiculousness for a 17-course tasting meal. He is due for a late fitness test and is “unlikely” to play, so the Blues may just get a reprieve.

Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 2 – 0. A lot of questions are being asked about the Chelsea back-line. The defenders and goalkeeper will want to put that to rest and cast themselves in a good light.

They started doing this against Nottingham Forest by keeping a clean sheet, even though it could have been a more comfortable win. The Blues will keep a clean sheet because they’ll be playing for their pride. They will take the lead early on and then control the game, doubling their lead just after half-time and spend the rest of the game making sure they don’t concede (stupidly or otherwise). Tammy Abraham brace.

Vansh Ambashta: 3 – 1. Chelsea need to get this done. After losing to many teams similar to Burnley, they look to come up strongly and put in a dominating display. They will concede a goal, though. That will happen, along with Abraham, Mason Mount and Willian scoring.

Abhishek Pancholi: 2 – 1. A helter-skelter game of football will be decided by two moments of brilliance and one moment of confusion from Chelsea.

Varun Dani: 3 – 0. The players should be fresh and gearing to go after that 7-10 day rest, and the staff must have used that time to conjure a plan that breaks Burnley’s stubbornness. Due to a lack of creative presence, Chelsea has struggled to break down defensively disciplined sides this season, which is a worrying to trend for a team aiming for the top four.

The press that set Chelsea apart in Lampard’s early days could finally return with fresh legs, which is the only way for the team to stop this being a frustrating 1-1 draw.