Chelsea will be looking to bolster their Premier League top four hopes when they host Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday at 3pm.
The Blues are currently fifth in the table but are only one point outside the top four. There is also a chance that fifth would be enough to secure Champions League football for next season.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Burnley
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Gusto; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.
Liam Rosenior enjoyed a good start to life as a Premier League manager at Chelsea, winning his first four games. That winning run did come to an end last time out, though, with a draw against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues returned to winning ways in the FA Cup, and will be hoping to build momentum up again leading into an important period.
Chelsea team news vs Burnley
Last weekend’s FA Cup win over Hull City was a good opportunity for Rosenior to rotate to see his options and also allow players to rest. Reece James returned from injury in the win, starting at right-back. He’ll want to keep his place in the XI, as Chelsea’s first-choice option on that side.
On the other side, Marc Cucurella remains out injured. Jorrel Hato started against Hull but there’s a chance Malo Gusto could move over to left-back if James starts on the right. Chelsea should have most their full-strength backline all available, with James and Gusto joined by Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana ahead of Robert Sanchez.
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Rosenior has options higher up the pitch too. Andrey Santos has come into his own as part of the double pivot alongside Moises Caicedo. This should allow Enzo Fernandez to push further forward as the No.10.
Cole Palmer is likely to start on the right of the attack with Pedro Neto on the left. There’s a question over who will lead the line. Liam Delap provided a hat-trick of assists against Hull, but could drop out for Joao Pedro who is in fine goalscoring form in the league.
Jamie Gittens is unavailable through injury, but Alejandro Garnacho and Estevao are other winger options. Chelsea also remain without Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and Filip Jorgensen.
Joao Pedro’s hot form
Joao Pedro has truly thrived since Rosenior took charge at Chelsea. The Brazilian has been directly involved in five goals in his past five league games, scoring four and providing one assist. That doesn’t include three penalties won across his past two games either. And it’s very easy to see why.
Pedro averaged 1.82 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season under Enzo Maresca and Calum McFarlane. He hit the target with 0.82 of those. Under Rosenior, Pedro has averaged 3.41 shots per 90 with 1.22 hitting the target. While his accuracy has dropped slightly, the increase in volume of shots has been crucial for Chelsea.
The Brazilian has also seen an increase in his Expected Goals from 0.35 per 90 to 0.67. Even his post-shot xG has gone up from 0.36 to 0.51. And he’s scoring much more frequently, jumping from 0.35 per 90 to 0.98.
What has decreased is Pedro’s chance creation. He created 1.23 chances per 90 pre-Rosenior compared to 0.73 under the Englishman. But that’s because others have been able to pick up the creative slack.