Overview
Chelsea aims to extend their impressive form when returning to the Premier League journey with a trip to Burnley.
Enzo Maresca's side entered the game early at Turf Moor after two consecutive wins over Tottenham and Wolves. These are the results that helped them climb to third place, only 2 points behind Man City and 6 points behind Arsenal.
Joao Pedro was a hero in both matches, scoring the only goal to help Chelsea beat Spurs and continue to score in the 3-0 victory over Wolves. The Brazilian striker has previously gone through seven Premier League defeats, but now he has scored in three consecutive games.
However, Burnley are the opponent that Joao Pedro has never scored in four Premier League confrontations. Only Brentford (7 matches) and Everton (5 matches) have prevented him from conceding a goal after more matches.
Argentine star Alejandro Garnacho also has a chance to reach the milestone of 100 Premier League matches. If he plays, at 21 years and 144 days, he will become the youngest player born in South America to reach this milestone, surpassing Gabriel Martinelli's record (22 years, 125 days).
Pedro - Garnacho could continue to be an important fulcrum for Chelsea's upcoming away run, having just won two consecutive away games and kept a clean sheet against Spurs and Nottingham Forest. The Blues have not kept a clean sheet in 3 consecutive away matches in the Premier League since November 2021 (4 matches), but Maresca has reason to be optimistic.
Chelsea have also won all 7 of their most recent Premier League matches taking place at 12:30 am on Saturday (local time). In the history of the tournament, only 3 streaks in the same time frame have better results: Man United (8 matches, 2003), Chelsea (8 matches, 2005-2017) and Man City (9 matches, 2021-2022).
Burnley are unlikely to be the team to stop this winning streak. They have lost four of their last six Premier League games and conceded two or more goals in five of those. A 2-3 defeat to West Ham right before the international break caused Scott Parker's team to fall to 17th place, only above West Ham thanks to their goal difference and 1 point ahead of Nottingham Forest.
Although Burnley are struggling at the bottom of the table under Scott Parker, Zian Flemming still stands out as a rare bright spot. The Dutch striker has scored three goals in four Premier League appearances for Burnley - a feat that only Maxwel Cornet has done better in the history of the Reds.
However, platform indicators are sending Parker worrying signals. Burnley is currently the team with the fewest shots in the league (90), the lowest total xG (8.3), the lowest possession rate (38.6%). In contrast, they have had the most shots (192) and have the highest xGA (24.0) in the Premier League this season.
Head-to-head record
There is little reason for Burnley to be optimistic, especially as they have won just one of their last 18 Premier League meetings with Chelsea (D5 L12).
Chelsea also have an outstanding record at Turf Moor. They have won eight of their last nine away games against Burnley in the Premier League, including their last six, and have scored at least three goals in each of their last five games.
In the history of the English top flight, only two teams have won six consecutive away games against the same opponent, scoring three or more goals in each match: Chelsea against Arsenal (1960-1965) and Manchester City against West Brom (2013-2021).
Score prediction: Burnley 1-2 Chelsea
The match between Burnley and Chelsea takes place at 19:30 on November 22 (Vietnam time).
