Cole Palmer And Malo Gusto To Start; Enzo Fernandez On The Bench: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Burnley

Chelsea eventually saw off Leicester last time out in the FA Cup but it was a far from convincing performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

If the Blues are to finish the season on a high note and qualify for Europe, they will need to be a lot more consistent than they have been recently.

Burnley are their next opponents this weekend and, while Vincent Kompany’s men come into the match off the back of a couple of good results, the home side should still be favourites to secure the three points.

Press the next page as we predict Chelsea’s starting lineup for the game at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

GK – Djordje Petrovic

Pochettino dropped the Serbian for the Leicester game and that turned out to be a mistake.

Robert Sanchez looked nervous on his return to the starting eleven and it demonstrated why Petrovic has been favoured ahead of the Spaniard.

Burnley are a pretty attack-minded team, even though they have been known to be pretty wasteful in front of goal this season.

It means that Petrovic may have to pull off a save or two in order to ensure the Clarets can’t get a foothold in the game.

RB – Malo Gusto

The fullback withdrew from international duty after contracting a virus.

However, it is believed that Gusto has recovered and he should be available to start on Saturday afternoon.

The 20-year-old has been one of the standout performers for the Blues in what has been a difficult season in general.

Gusto’s creativity down the right flank has been a particular highlight, but he does still have some work to do on the defensive side of his game.

CB – Axel Disasi

Fans are still trying to work out how he scored that own goal against Leicester last time out.

Disasi had been put under pressure, but that shouldn’t have led him to put the ball through his own net from 30 yards out!

It’s been a mixed bag from the 26-year-old during his first season at Stamford Bridge.

If the club are to challenge for titles in the future, though, you do think they will need better centre-backs than Disasi.

CB – Trevoh Chalobah

Pochettino has continued to pick the 24-year-old ahead of Thiago Silva.

Chalobah has only recently returned to full fitness after a very serious hamstring injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season.

However, Pochettino appears to be a fan of the player, having started him in four consecutive fixtures.

That would suggest Chalobah will also start against Burnley on Saturday, with Silva having to settle for a place on the bench once again.

LB – Marc Cucurella

Ben Chilwell is now back to full fitness, having got minutes under his belt for England during the international break.

Even so, the vice-captain may not get his place back in Chelsea’s starting eleven straight away.

Cucurella didn’t do a lot wrong against Leicester, getting on the scoresheet and making some important defensive contributions as well.

For the first time in a while, Pochettino has a couple of options to choose from on the left-hand side of defence.

CM – Moises Caicedo

The 22-year-old looked more impressive playing in a more advanced role for Ecuador during the international break.

However, due to a lack of options, it seems unlikely that Caicedo will be afforded the same sort of freedom for his club.

Pochettino doesn’t have any other holding midfielders to choose from, with Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu still on the sidelines.

It means Caicedo will continue as the no.6 when Chelsea face Burnley this weekend.

CM – Conor Gallagher

Enzo Fernandez is unlikely to be fit enough to start against Burnley.

Due to Argentina playing Costa Rica in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it means he will only return to the UK on Friday due to a 14-hour flight.

For the second game running, Gallagher may be deployed in a deeper midfield role.

The 24-year-old is not as effective as a no.8 but, due to limited options, Pochettino may select him in that position.

AM – Carney Chukwuemeka

The attacking midfielder played a key role after coming on as a substitute against Leicester.

Chukwuemeka’s neat one-two with Cole Palmer and his composed finish led to the crucial third goal in injury time.

The 20-year-old’s performance could be rewarded with a start against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.

Chukwuemeka is always looking for the forward pass and that willingness to make things happen on the ball is an excellent trait that will hold him in good stead as a no.10.

RW – Cole Palmer

The winger had to sit out England’s first friendly against Brazil last weekend due to injury.

However, while he didn’t get off the bench versus Belgium on Tuesday night, it is believed that Palmer is now back available for selection.

The 21-year-old has been outstanding for Chelsea this season and his creativity would have been sorely missed if he wasn’t able to play versus Burnley.

The Clarets are not exactly the strongest defensively, having conceded 63 goals in the Premier League since promotion. With that being the case, you would back Palmer to create a fair few chances against them.

CF – Nicolas Jackson

We are beginning to see a lot more consistency from the Senegalese international.

Jackson’s finishing can still be rather erratic, but his all-round game has come on leaps and bounds in recent months.

At 22 years of age, you do feel that the best is yet to come from the striker in a Chelsea shirt.

As mentioned, Burnley’s defence has been very leaky this campaign so Jackson should be able to get in behind and cause them some serious problems.

LW – Mykhailo Mudryk

The Stamford Bridge crowd really got on Raheem Sterling’s back during the victory against Leicester.

Some of the criticism was justified. Sterling shouldn’t have taken the penalty off Cole Palmer and there was no excuse for missing a one-on-one chance.

Saying all that, though, the 29-year-old hasn’t had a bad a season as some have made out. He has made 18 goal contributions in all competitions. Even so, a spell on the bench looks inevitable.

Mudryk has looked pretty sharp in recent weeks and, after scoring Ukraine’s winner against Iceland to seal qualification for Euro 2024, his confidence should be sky-high.