Chelsea continue their pursuit of a top-four finish in the Premier League on Saturday when they welcome an out-of-form Burnley side to Stamford Bridge.
Defeats to West Ham, Everton and Bournemouth towards the end of the year meant the Blues were in danger of slipping out of the Champions League qualification places.
But recent victories over London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal mean there is now a five-point gap between Frank Lampard’s side and fifth-place Manchester United.
Chelsea will be a little disappointed to have thrown away victory against Brighton in their previous league outing. However, a comfortable win over Championship side Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup saw the Blues return to winning ways last time out.
Still, Lampard must sort out his team’s defensive problems if Chelsea have genuine top-four ambitions this season. Only Spurs and Arsenal have conceded more goals in the top half of the table.
Following three straight defeats, Burnley are in danger of becoming involved in a relegation battle if their performances don’t pick up.
Six defeats in their last eight Premier League games have seen Sean Dyche’s side slip to fifteenth in the table – four points clear of the bottom three.
The Clarets have found goals especially hard to come by in recent weeks. Burnley have only scored one in their last three league games and three in their last six.
This sort of goalscoring run doesn’t bode well for a trip to Chelsea as Burnley have won just one of their last 11 meetings with the Blues.
A Christian Pulisic hat-trick helped Chelsea thrash Burnley 4-2 earlier in the season, while Dyche’s men scored twice in the final five minutes to soften the blow.
When you consider that Chelsea have scored two goals or more in each of their last five games against Burnley, all the signs are pointing towards another Blues win this weekend.
Chelsea have no fresh injuries worries heading into Saturday’s clash. Pulisic will be hoping to add to his three goals from earlier in the campaign, while Marcos Alonso could return.
Burnley’s attacking duo of Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes both picked up minor injuries over the festive period, but both should be ready to return to first-team action this weekend.
Taking into consideration the current form of the two teams, along with their recent head-to-head record, Chelsea look set to cruise to a comfortable victory.
Forebet predicts that Chelsea will again score two goals in this fixture. Given Burnley’s poor goalscoring record, a clean sheet is also on the cards for the home side.