Chelsea extended their winning streak in the league to two matches with a nerve-wracking 2-1 victory over Watford on Saturday. Diego Costa scored the winning goal for the Blues who moved into a tie for first place in the Premier League standings with six points. The Spanish international calmly slotted in a spectacular through-ball from Cesc Fabregas in the 87th minute to record his second consecutive match-winner for Chelsea.
Much of the credit for the Blues’ perfect start must be given to new manager Antonio Conte. His decision to field in Victor Moses, Michy Batshuayi and Fabregas late on against Watford turned the game around for Chelsea. Thanks to Conte’s second-half substitutions, the Blues were able to spend 20 percent more time in Watford’s area than they had in the previous 70 minutes. Batshuayi, in particular, was a spark plug for Chelsea, scoring the much-needed equalizer in the 80th minute. Even with just 23 minutes of action against Watford, the Belgium striker had the second most shots of any player in that match.
That being said, there’s still plenty of room for improvement for Chelsea heading into their weekend clash against Burnley. The Blues’ starting midfield of Oscar, Pedro and Matic have struggled mightily in their opening two matches this season. It would be wise for Conte to start the much-effective Fabregas this time around against Burnley. Since his return to the Premier League in 2014, Fabregas has recorded more assists (26) than any other player in the English top flight.
The Blues are pegged at -525to score first in this match.
Now that was a shock. Burnley FC recorded the biggest upset of this young Premier League season thus far, stunning powerhouse Liverpool, 2-0, in an enthralling encounter at Turf Moor on Saturday. Sam Vokes and Andre Gray scored the winning goals for the Clarets who won their first league game against Liverpool since September 1974.
What makes this victory so astonishing for Burnley is that they managed it with just 19 percent possession. That’s the lowest total by a Premier League winning side since Opta began recording the stat in the 2003-04 season. To further illustrate Liverpool’s dominance in this match, the Reds outshot the Clarets, 26-3. Burnley’s industry and effort, however, proved to be the difference in this contest as they outran Liverpool, 115.3 km to 113 km.
Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the newly-promoted side as standing in their way in the next match are leaders Chelsea. The Blues have taken 10 points from their last four Premier League games against Burnley. Chelsea have also won the title on both of the last two occasions the Clarets were in the English top-flight.
For Burnley to claim another major scalp this coming weekend, they will need George Boyd to continue his excellent play in defense. Boyd’s stats for sprints (90) and distance covered (12.46km) were the best of any player on the pitch on Saturday. He also won possession 10 times against Liverpool, more than any other Burnley player.
The Clarets are pegged at +450to score first in this match.
