Chelsea

Chris Wise
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It's always quite interesting sitting in on a Liam Rosenior press conference.

He's always firm and fair in his assessment of Chelsea's performances. But one thing he won't do is talk about anything that has happened at the club under a previous regime.

The Wesley Fofana sending-off was Chelsea's eighth red card this season, though the others all pre-date Rosenior's arrival. But it's been a fundamental problem in Chelsea's campaign - it was the reason they didn't beat Burnley and it has been the reason they've not picked up points in other games too.

From a position of prominence, albeit without ruthlessness, Chelsea suddenly lost their way and felt like they had to protect what they had. And they didn't do a good job of that.

Rosenior had four centre-backs on the pitch at the end of the game to try to nullify Burnley's aerial ability and it still didn't work. That's the other Achilles heel in this Chelsea season. Set-pieces.

Red cards and set-pieces.

But again, they are problems that existed long before Rosenior arrived.

He made a headline-grabbing comment in his press conference when he said Chelsea had "set fire to four points in their past two home games". He's not wrong.

And the draw with Burnley was more proof that there's a few more fires to put out before Chelsea can become a title contender again.

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior speaking to BBC Sport: "We should have won the game. We should have been more ruthless. There was a lack of penetration in the first half, second half we had more moments without the right final pass or finish."

On Chelsea's latest red card this season: "I can only speak on my time with the group so far. Up until today our disciplinary record has been good. It is something for me to solve but I thought it was an unfortunate red card. Even so, you have to see the game out.

"The best teams put the opposition to bed. The best teams are ruthless when they have the upper-hand. If you are not ruthless you have to keep a clean sheet. There are not enough clean sheets.

"The four points we have dropped in our last two games shouldn't have happened. We still should win this game and that is something I need to address very quickly."

Did you know?

• Chelsea have had eight players sent off in all competitions this season (excluding the Club World Cup), the most by a Premier League side since West Ham had nine players sent off in 2015-16.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The sheer number of red cards has left much of the conversation around Chelsea focused on indiscipline, and Zian Flemming's goal only underlined how it is undermining their season.

Chelsea have won only once after going down to 10 men this campaign - following an 87th‑minute dismissal at Nottingham Forest - and have lost or drawn the other five league matches in which they have had a player sent off.

The pattern is clear - Chelsea are suffering because of their lack of discipline. They are also a team accustomed to collecting yellow cards.

They sit bottom of the Fair Play table with 86 points, having received 60 yellow cards this season. They were second-bottom last season and bottom the season before.

It is hard not to link the disciplinary record to the age of the squad. Chelsea have not fielded a player over 28 all season and have the youngest squad in the Premier League - a profile deliberately built by the club's hierarchy.

Yet Chelsea do have quality and could point to positives from the 72 minutes before Wesley Fofana's second yellow card, which will rule him out of the upcoming trip to league leaders Arsenal.

Most notably, in‑form striker Joao Pedro scored his fifth league goal in six matches and is the leading scorer across Liam Rosenior's first 11 games in charge.

But while the Brazilian's form since his £55m move from Brighton has been a bright spot, it was once again a familiar story for Chelsea as indiscipline dominated the agenda.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Burnley's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Chelsea are without Estevao Willian and Marc Cucurella for Saturday's afternoon kick-off.

Pedro Neto and Reece James come into the side, among three changes from their last Premier League outing — a 2-2 draw with Leeds at Stamford Bridge 10 days ago.

The other change sees Josh Acheampong drop to the bench, with Wesley Fofana replacing him in defence.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Chalobah, Gusto, Caicedo, Andrey Santos, Palmer, Fernandez, Neto, Joao Pedro

Subs: Slonina, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Hato, Lavia, Garnacho, Delap, Guiu

Burnley are unchanged from their 3-2 comeback win away at Crystal Palace in their last Premier League match.

Former Chelsea duo Bashir Humphreys and Lesley Ugochukwu both start, but Armando Broja is not fit to begin.

January signing James Ward‑Prowse is among the substitutes.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Laurent, Esteve, Worrell, Walker, Ugochukwu, Hannibal, Humphreys, Edwards, Anthony, Flemming

Subs: Weiss, Pires, Ekdal, Hartman, Florentino, Ward-Prowse, Tchaona, Bruun Larsen, Barnes

Image source, BBC Sport

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Leeds - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Brentford v Brighton

• Chelsea v Burnley - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• West Ham v Bournemouth (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Manchester City v Newcastle (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to Aston Villa v Leeds" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v Newcastle", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist

Liam Rosenior's 100% record as Chelsea head coach may have come to an end last week, but his side's excellent league form since he took charge is indisputable and they will be big favourites to return to winning ways when struggling Burnley visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Four wins and a draw under the Englishman have propelled them from eighth in the table to fifth, with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro contributing nine of the Blues' 13 goals in those five games.

Blues know the score

Both players were on the scoresheet in the 2-2 draw with Leeds United on 10 February, the 24th league game in which the west London side have found the net this term. No team has scored in more individual games.

But while goals haven't been a problem under Rosenior or his predecessor Enzo Maresca, holding on to a lead has, especially at Stamford Bridge. No top-flight club has dropped more points from a winning position at home this season than Chelsea.

The Blues boast a more than favourable record against Burnley - they've lost just one of their 19 Premier League encounters, winning 13 of them.

Having lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland and 3-1 away at Leeds this term, Chelsea will want to avoid an unwanted first – they've never lost to all three promoted sides in a single league campaign before.

Parker on the precipice?

Any optimism Burnley fans gleaned from their remarkable comeback victory over Crystal Palace last week – a first league win in 17 games – was quickly extinguished when their side were dumped out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage by Mansfield Town of League One.

With Burnley 19th in the table, nine points adrift of safety, head coach Scott Parker's position has come under increasing scrutiny and the league's worst defence – with 51 goals conceded – will surely be tested again against a free-scoring Chelsea side.

Jaidon Anthony's leveller against Palace, his sixth league goal of the campaign, made him the Clarets' top scorer this season and indeed the former Bournemouth forward leads the way for the Clarets in several attacking metrics.

Worryingly, ahead of a second successive Premier League trip to London, Burnley have conceded at least twice in each of their last eight top-flight away games in the capital.

In fact, the east Lancashire side haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 23 league away games in England's top tier, since a 2-0 win at Fulham in December 2023. It's the longest run by a side in the competition since Aston Villa's 26-game stint between February 2016 and July 2020.

So much for me thinking that Burnley might give their fans something to cheer about by going on a good FA Cup run.

After their brilliant fightback to beat Crystal Palace in their last league game, the Clarets made changes against Mansfield and went out on their own patch to a League One side.

I just can't see anything other than a home win for Chelsea here, even with their wobble last time at Stamford Bridge where Leeds fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 - Liam Rosenior's side won't let that happen again.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

You can listen to BBC Radio Lancashire's commentary on Saturday's game on 95.5FM, DAB & Freeview 712 with Gary Hunt & Glen Little.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia played 45 minutes for the Under‑21s as they hosted Leeds at the club's training ground on Friday afternoon.

The 22‑year‑old made his first appearance in the 2-2 draw having suffered a quadriceps injury during the Champions League match away to Qarabag in early November.

It was the latest setback in what has been an injury‑hit spell at Stamford Bridge following his £54m move from Southampton in 2023.

Lavia has still yet to complete a full 90 minutes for Chelsea, having made just 30 appearances in two and a half years and missing 98 matches across 603 days since joining the club.

Head coach Liam Rosenior revealed Lavia has been back in training over recent weeks while following a "detailed plan" aimed at ensuring he returns "for good". However, Rosenior has declined to give a timeframe for when the midfielder will be available for first‑team selection.

Chelsea's youth team went top of the Premier League 2 table despite surrendering a two‑goal lead, with Liam Rosenior and several first‑team players — including Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Malo Gusto — watching from the sidelines.

The latest news and views on the Blues in two minutes, every weekday afternoon.

Listen to Chelsea Daily on BBC Sounds.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Burnley at Stamford Bridge (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rosenior confirmed Reece James and Cole Palmer "trained really well today" and are "are both fully fit and both available for selection at the moment", but their fitness is "based on day by day".

• He did not give a return date for Marc Cucurella, who will not be available: "I can't given an exact timeframe. He suffered a hamstring injury just before half-time in the Leeds game. It's a real shame because he's an outstanding player, and one of the best left-backs in the world. But we have Jorrel [Hato] and we have Malo [Gusto] who can play on that side, so we have really good players that can cover."

• Several first-team players used a free midweek to travel to Dubai: "I looked at the players' schedules over the past 18 months. That was my idea. I thought it was the right thing for the players considering the workload they've had. I encouraged the players to go and get some sun. Sometimes it is the best way to rejuvenate."

• On captain James' relationship with former skipper John Terry: "John is a legend of the club. With the experience he has got, it's an amazing thing for Reece to tap into. You can learn from anyone, but learning from people that have been there and done it is the best way."

• On the race to qualify for next season's Champions League:: "It's February. There is plenty of time. It's not going to be simple. This is a strong league. We have to take care of our business regardless of what time we play."

• Asked how competitive the league is in the wake of leaders Arsenal's drawing at bottom side Wolves, Rosenior said:" I don't think it's just complacency. I thought Wolves were outstanding yesterday. This is such a strong league now. What we have to do is focus on our own performance and prepare ourselves right. Whether we're playing Wolves, Burnley, Manchester City or Arsenal, our process is the same."

• On Liam Delap's recent lack of goals: "That's the first thing I look for in my strikers - people contributing to us winning games of football. All strikers want to score goals - that's why they play the game - but Liam defends from the front amazingly well. If you look at most players and their careers, it's usually the second season they take off. He's had some injuries. I'm really happy with Liam."

• Rosenior responded strongly when asked about the incident of alleged racist abuse targeted at Vinicus Junior in the Champions League game between Real Madrid and Benfica: "If any player or any coach is ever found guilty of racism, they shouldn't be in the game. It's as simple as that."

Listen to live commentary of Chelsea v Burnley at 15:00 on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Chelsea? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea should have been awarded a third penalty in their 3-1 victory at Wolves on 7 February, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has said.

However, it also felt the incident did not reach the threshold for a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention.

Striker Joao Pedro had already been awarded two spot-kicks, following first-half fouls by Matt Doherty and Yerson Mosquera.

The third incident came in the fourth minute of the second half.

Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa came out to claim a high ball under pressure from Pedro.

The Portuguese shot-stopper caught the ball with a raised boot leading into the thigh of the 24-year-old.

The KMI Panel voted 3-2 that the spot-kick should have been awarded on the field.

It said: "Sa's boot is high and his extended leg makes contact with Pedro, with the panel feeling a penalty should have been awarded."

The KMI Panel was unanimous that the VAR official Paul Howard was right not to intervene for the penalty or a red card.

It added that the challenge "lacks any real force to meet the threshold for a red card".

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea will be only just back from their mid-season break when Liam Rosenior speaks to the media to preview Saturday's home match against Burnley.

After a relentless run of midweek fixtures since the September international break, Chelsea have finally had eight days to prepare for a game - with players given permission to take short overseas holidays.

Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, Joao Pedro, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella all travelled to Dubai, while Alejandro Garnacho chose Egypt for some winter sun.

Allowing the squad time away appears an obvious decision, given most of them played in the Club World Cup and had only 35 days between seasons - the shortest break ever recorded for Chelsea.

It will be interesting to see how the team look after this reset, and how Rosenior - who has experienced a whirlwind start since arriving in early January - has used the time.

Come back to this page later on Thursday for all the key lines from Rosenior.