da wazamba： Chelsea take on Burnley this weekend as Enzo Maresca looks to spearhead a possible Premier League title challenge, with the Blues lying just six points behind table-toppers Arsenal.
da betsul： Chelsea travel to Turf Moor on Saturday looking to maintain their impressive form against the top flight newcomers.
The Blues currently sit third in the Premier League table, having enjoyed an unbeaten run of four games in all competitions before the international break. Despite some criticism, perhaps overblown at times, Chelsea are in pretty good stead right now, having lost just three times in their 12 outings.
The visitors will be strong favourites against a Burnley side languishing in 17th, with the Clarets enduring four defeats in their last six league games. They haven’t even kept a clean sheet in their previous three, and even more concerning for Scott Parker’s side, Burnley now have the third-worst defence in the division this campaign with 22 goals conceded in 11 matches.
However, Chelsea’s title challenge has been hampered by injuries, particularly to their talismanic forward Cole Palmer.
Palmer has been plagued by a niggling groin issue which even caused him problems at the Club World Cup, limiting him to just four appearances in all competitions this season. Maresca confirmed Palmer would miss another six weeks before the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest last month, though Chelsea are hoping the England international will be back from injury to face Arsenal on November 30 (Simon Phillips).
Injuries and absentees have been a key theme of their campaign so far, with Palmer, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernández, Pedro Neto, Roméo Lavia, Dario Essugo, Liam Delap, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Andrey Santos and Josh Acheampong all missing games at various points so far.
This has prompted Maresca to make the most squad rotations of any Premier League manager so far this season with 93, and it could well be a symptom of their extensive fixture schedule last campaign.
Their current injury list includes Palmer, Essugo, Colwill, Badiashile, Lavia and Neto, with Fernandez ruling himself out of Argentina duty as well.
The latter, who has dazzled since Maresca’s arrival as a key linchpin of Chelsea’s midfield, has now become a crucial player for the west Londoners.
Fernandez is attracting interest from Real Madrid as a result, according to some reports, and supporters have been waiting for an update when it comes to his condition.
Chelsea given Enzo Fernández update ahead of Burnley
According to journalist Simon Phillips, the situation is fairly positive.
While Fernandez has been struggling with knee pain, it is believed that the 24-year-old is expected to be available for Chelsea’s trip to Lancashire this weekend in what is a big boost for Maresca’s side.
Fernandez has emerged as a ‘leader’ at Chelsea who has ‘a bit of everything’, as per Sky pundit Micah Richards, and he’s poised to play a crucial role in Chelsea’s hunt for major silverware.
With Barcelona in the Champions League just days after Burnley and Arsenal the weekend after, having Fernandez fit and firing will be absolutely pivotal.
The midfielder has been deployed in an attacking position when Chelsea are in possession, but drops back alongside Moises Caicedo to defend without the ball, creating a hybrid role that has seriously unlocked Fernandez’s true potential after initially failing to justify his £107 million price tag.
Remarkably, Fernandez is the only player at Chelsea to have 20 direct goal contributions in 2025, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists, with Maresca describing him as an ‘example’ to the team.