Josh Cullen has been a consistent performer for Burnley so far this season with the 29-year-old featuring in all 11 matches for the Clarets in the Premier League. Scott Parker appears to have landed on a preferred midfield trio of Cullen, Florentino and Lesley Ugochukwu, with the latter pushing on slightly ahead of Cullen and Florentino, who sit a little deeper.

Cullen has committed seven fouls across his 11 Premier League appearances this season (0.67 per 90). It’s also worth noting that Cullen has played nearly every minute for Burnley this season (940). 

The seven fouls that Cullen has committed this season have been spread across seven of his 11 Premier League matches, with the Irishman committing at least one infringement in each of his last six Premier League matches.

There’s a real chance for the streak to extend here with Chelsea being one of the best sides in the Premier League this season when it comes to winning fouls. The Blues have won 13+ fouls in eight of their 11 Premier League matches. Cullen’s direct opponent here is likely to be Joao Pedro, who has been afforded the luxury of dropping into a deeper role, facilitated by the return of Liam Delap. Joao Pedro has won 22 fouls across his 11 Premier League appearances this term (2.12 per 90).

Fernandez has won 12 fouls across his 10 Premier League appearances this season (1.22 per 90), with the Blues ranking 2nd overall in the Premier League when it comes to winning fouls (136 - 12.3 per game). Only Aston Villa (148 - 13.4 per game) have won more fouls as a team than Chelsea this season, with the Blues winning 13+ fouls in eight of their 11 matches.

Fernandez is likely to line up against a Burnley trio that will be forced deep and to do the majority of the dirty work as the main guard to a vulnerable backline, which has already conceded 22 goals this term. This should see the Argentine challenged frequently when he tries to find a creative solution through Burnley’s low block.

Chelsea remain one of the top sides in the Premier League when it comes to winning corners. In truth, if you want to be battling at the top of the Premier League at the moment, then you need corners as a part of your arsenal. The English top-flight appears to have returned to its roots this season, with direct and physical football the norm, with set pieces playing a massive role.

Chelsea have won 71 corners in the Premier League this season (6.45 per game), which is the 2nd-highest tally in the division, behind Arsenal (75 - 6.81 per game). This should be the perfect game for Chelsea to meet, or even exceed, their average for the season, with Burnley expected to sit in a stubborn low block, which the Blues may have issues breaking down.

Chelsea have had 5+ corners in 10 of their 11 matches in the Premier League this season. The only game in which they didn’t manage to cover this line was their 3-0 win on the road against Nottingham Forest. Chelsea have had more than five corners in six of those matches, so higher markets for Chelsea are worth exploring, as are match corner markets, as Burnley can also pose a set piece threat.

Chelsea are a promising young side, but that always comes with the risk of breeding petulance in a squad, and we’ve already seen a bit of that this season. Chelsea’s flurry of red cards at the start of the campaign will have caught the headlines, but this has been a longstanding issue for the Blues.

Chelsea have ranked top in the Premier League for yellow cards in each of the last two seasons, collecting 105 in 23/24 and 99 in 24/25. The squad is now almost completely unrecognisable from the one that lined up in 23/24 under Mauricio Pochettino, but the youthful nature has remained, which explains why Chelsea are consistently at the top of this count. 

There are, of course, other young sides in the Premier League who don’t end up with such high card counts, but my explanation for that is that the Chelsea players are under a unique pressure for their age, with the Blues still expected to challenge for big trophies, despite the youthful profile of the squad. 

This is a game where Chelsea could grow particularly frustrated as Burnley can be quite stubborn in their shape and organisation - the last thing you’d want to face in a first game back after the international break. Chelsea have picked up 2+ cards in seven of their 11 Premier League matches this season - notably in all but one of their away games this season (v West Ham).

The next few weeks will give us a first real opportunity to look at Liam Delap in a Chelsea shirt following a period on the sidelines for the 22-year-old, who sustained an unfortunate injury at the start of the season after a few promising cameos. 

I think Delap will be invaluable to Chelsea in these sorts of matches. Chelsea haven’t had a successful striker since Diego Costa, who signed 10 years ago now, but Delap is in the mould that suits a Chelsea forward. He reminds me quite a bit of Costa; physical, a bit of a hot head and a real handful for defenders, as well as being a clear target in the box, which is something that the Blues have lacked against low blocks in recent seasons.

Delap can be the player to end the striker curse at Chelsea, and he benefits the side with his strength and hold-up play. Delap’s main strength may end up actually being how he unlocks the other players in this Chelsea side. If you look at Chelsea’s 5-1 win over West Ham earlier in the campaign, then you will see the real benefit that the former Man City man provides to the side - particularly to Joao Pedro, who has struggled in the line striker role in Delap’s absence.

Delap netted 12 Premier League goals for an Ipswich side that got relegated last season, so there is no reason why he cannot emerge with a similar tally from here, with a higher quality of players around him.

I’ve been banging on about the fact that Ugochukwu has been playing higher up for Burnley for a few weeks now, and it finally looks like the bookies have caught up. This was priced at 6.0 before the international break when the Clarets took on West Ham - Ugochukwu had four shots in that game with one of those attempts finding the target.

He’s lining up against his former club here, so we can expect an extra layer of motivation for the Frenchmen here who has scored two Premier League goals since being moved to a more advanced role. Ugochukwu has had 10 shots across his 593 minutes of Premier League action this term (1.52 per 90), with three of those attempts finding the target (0.46 per 90).

Burnley’s opportunities will be limited here, but Ugochukwu can be involved in the few forays forward that the Clarets enjoy in this clash.

Only Aston Villa (148) have won more fouls than Chelsea (136) in the Premier League so far this season. The Blues have won 13+ fouls in eight of their 11 Premier League games this term, and are likely to tempt the Clarets into committing a similar number here.

Burnley won’t have the ball for long periods in this clash despite being the home side. Scott Parker’s side unsurprisingly rank bottom for possession in the Premier League this season (38.4% per game), which is a metric that tells us that Burnley are familiar with not having the ball and won’t have too many issues with being the passive side here.

Burnley have committed 12+ fouls in just three of their 11 Premier League matches this season, but this selection is driven more by Chelsea’s strong ability to win fouls, which should force a rise in the number of fouls that the Clarets commit. Burnley committed 15 fouls against Aston Villa in their recent clash against Unai Emery’s side, which is similar to the foul volume we can expect from them here.