⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Callido]

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

Is that not what Maresca is supposed to do playing against a team at the bottom of the table, why stress the important players starting them, when you can start the second team mixed with some starting team defenders to tighten the game a little, if the results are not going as planned he can then adjust by bringing more of the starting players to improve the result. Champions League match is the most important game for the week.

[Obari]

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

I don't understand the extent of the Blues this season. They've been indulging in mediocre performance and unable to buckle up for the streak winnings, Chelsea is not performing like the elite team they are. They just have to bounce back to prime form because winning is important. Chelsea headcoach, Enzo Maresca shouldn't jeopardize this weekend game because of the UEFA Champions League next week. The Blues just have to fight harder because winning should priority for them despite the current grounds they hold themselves.

[Iroh]

For some reason everyone sees Chelsea as the favorite against Burnley. But in the Premier League, underdogs beat the top teams all the time. I think Burnley will at least avoid losing this match.

I’m also curious how Arsenal’s defense will look without Gabriel in the game against Tottenham — can they keep a clean sheet? And today I heard that Semenyo from Bournemouth missed the last training sessions and might miss the match as well.

What do you think — which match could I bet on to have a confident chance of winning? 

A lot of people see Chelsea as the stronger team and the favorite to win the game against Burnley and it's not just for "some reason". Chelsea is in a much better form and being the obvious stronger side, is expected to have a better performance and ultimately the win in that game. There are reasons why lots of people think Chelsea would win.
And yeah, in the premier league, we've seen how the underdogs have gone ahead to defeat their stronger opponent, surprising everyone. While it happens, it doesn't happen all the time. Burnley would have to put in their all. Perhaps they could manage to hold Chelsea to a draw.

[redhack]

Cole Palmer broke his toe by hitting it against the door. Another very unfortunate injury. He will definitely miss the Barcelona and Arsenal matches. He hadn't played for 2 months due to a groin injury and just as he was getting back to full training, this unfortunate incident occurred. This could happen to anyone, we shouldn't blame the player. Maresca also emphasized this. They have to continue with their game plan without him for a few more weeks. Chelsea played pretty good and won a lot of games without him this season, but they are definitely much stronger with him.

[KingsDen]

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

I don't understand the extent of the Blues this season. They've been indulging in mediocre performance and unable to buckle up for the streak winnings, Chelsea is not performing like the elite team they are. They just have to bounce back to prime form because winning is important. Chelsea headcoach, Enzo Maresca shouldn't jeopardize this weekend game because of the UEFA Champions League next week. The Blues just have to fight harder because winning should priority for them despite the current grounds they hold themselves.

Chelsea that is yet to find their ground this season is the people are talking about resting players. If I may ask which players are they actually going to rest and for what purpose? You will be able to rest players when you apart from me well in the English Premier League and want a better performance in the Champions League. As it stands now, Chelsea has no place in the English Premier League, so of what essence is it to rest players for the Champions League which they are not even sure of.

I can say that the problem of Chelsea is even more of the English Premier League than the Champions League. This is because if they are determined Chelsea will be able to win Barcelona in the Champions League because Barcelona is also not in their good form and they have lost a lot of their players to injury. So Chelsea coach should focus on Burnley and take all three points before we talk about the Champions League

[Franctoshi]

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

I don't understand the extent of the Blues this season. They've been indulging in mediocre performance and unable to buckle up for the streak winnings, Chelsea is not performing like the elite team they are. They just have to bounce back to prime form because winning is important. Chelsea headcoach, Enzo Maresca shouldn't jeopardize this weekend game because of the UEFA Champions League next week. The Blues just have to fight harder because winning should priority for them despite the current grounds they hold themselves.

The blues has not been stable in form at all, and that's worrying. From my perspective on this, a coach should have a target plan each season in regard to the particular trophy he wants to take home that particular season. Let's say he wants to focus majorly on  lifting two trophies, but it's not that it will stop them from performing well across other competitions, no.

[MorganaX]

Cole Palmer broke his toe by hitting it against the door. Another very unfortunate injury. He will definitely miss the Barcelona and Arsenal matches. He hadn't played for 2 months due to a groin injury and just as he was getting back to full training, this unfortunate incident occurred. This could happen to anyone, we shouldn't blame the player. Maresca also emphasized this. They have to continue with their game plan without him for a few more weeks. Chelsea played pretty good and won a lot of games without him this season, but they are definitely much stronger with him.

This will definitely be a big list to them, as Cole Palmer will definitely be an interesting player that will definitely perform to his best at his form, now that we can not see him play, Chelsea will definitely continue with no Cold Palmer in their midfield.
I'm still sure that, Barcelona will never get an easy win on this game, from my own point though, as they will find it hard to get that 3 points and on the other hand, Chelsea will also find hard to keep Barcelona away from goal and this is something I trust Chelsea for.

[Amphenomenon]

Cole Palmer broke his toe by hitting it against the door. Another very unfortunate injury. He will definitely miss the Barcelona and Arsenal matches. He hadn't played for 2 months due to a groin injury and just as he was getting back to full training, this unfortunate incident occurred. This could happen to anyone, we shouldn't blame the player. Maresca also emphasized this. They have to continue with their game plan without him for a few more weeks. Chelsea played pretty good and won a lot of games without him this season, but they are definitely much stronger with him.

We won't really blame him maybe not now and hopefully not ever.
It was a disappointment especially since our top opponents are having key players returning, especially Barcelona in the coming Champions league during the week. Our attacking prowess is not as solid without him and our defense is something always making worry, this won't be an easy games for us.

Hopefully by January our defensive prowess is improved for us to compete.

[dezoel]

For some reason everyone sees Chelsea as the favorite against Burnley. But in the Premier League, underdogs beat the top teams all the time. I think Burnley will at least avoid losing this match.

I’m also curious how Arsenal’s defense will look without Gabriel in the game against Tottenham — can they keep a clean sheet? And today I heard that Semenyo from Bournemouth missed the last training sessions and might miss the match as well.

What do you think — which match could I bet on to have a confident chance of winning? 

While it is true that underdogs could beat the favourites at times, that doesn't mean we are going to end up betting on the underdogs all the time. Betting on the favourites is a lot easier and won't be a problem at all, we should be able to see this change and be better.

I hope that we can see this be an easy task for them but at the end of the day it is not going to be easy at all, will be a very different situation to be in. I think it's clear that we are going to watch these situations change and be different in the end. With what we have at hand, betting on the favourite is easier, because that is the expected result and we usually do that, unless you have a sneaky feeling that underdogs are not that much underdogs.

[Oluwa-btc]

Is that not what Maresca is supposed to do playing against a team at the bottom of the table, why stress the important players starting them, when you can start the second team mixed with some starting team defenders to tighten the game a little, if the results are not going as planned he can then adjust by bringing more of the starting players to improve the result. Champions League match is the most important game for the week.

I think the best players should start the game against Burnley, this is not a game to see them rested. They're to show responsibility whenever called upon. This game against Burnley is that kind of game that shouldn't be treated that way. It is also one of the major mistakes done by managers. Jinxing a premier league game they should have won for Champions league. One game at a time,  I honestly think they can beat Burnley from the first half of this game.

[blue Snow]

Is that not what Maresca is supposed to do playing against a team at the bottom of the table, why stress the important players starting them, when you can start the second team mixed with some starting team defenders to tighten the game a little, if the results are not going as planned he can then adjust by bringing more of the starting players to improve the result. Champions League match is the most important game for the week.

If I were Maresca, I wouldn't start the 2nd team because all clubs in the Premier League cannot be taken underestimated, even if they stand at the bottom table.
Chelsea needs the winning streak to hold their position in the Champions League zone. Burnley have the motivation to get the win to please their fans at home.
Two consecutive losses in other day make they want to fix to far away from the degradation zone.
Even H2H are leaning toward to Chelsea, but Burnley has ever held them to a draw, it happened on Stamford Bridge, and that possible they will repeat it again tonight.

[ancafe]

I think the best players should start the game against Burnley, this is not a game to see them rested. They're to show responsibility whenever called upon. This game against Burnley is that kind of game that shouldn't be treated that way. It is also one of the major mistakes done by managers. Jinxing a premier league game they should have won for Champions league. One game at a time,  I honestly think they can beat Burnley from the first half of this game.

Maresca doesn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get three points, which is why he started against Burnley with his best players. I'm sure he won't rotate any players bacause the Premier League is different, and even inaccurate rotations can affect the result. I see Maresca understand this, so he just needs to maximize the game to get the three points. Burnley can't be underestimated, as they could pull off a surprise, like beating Sunderland. I agree with you, Chelsea can't afford to treat Burnley like that if they don't want to drop points.

[Kuingsudaqila]

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

Is that not what Maresca is supposed to do playing against a team at the bottom of the table, why stress the important players starting them, when you can start the second team mixed with some starting team defenders to tighten the game a little, if the results are not going as planned he can then adjust by bringing more of the starting players to improve the result. Champions League match is the most important game for the week.

The most important and main thing is to secure the victory first in the first half. After the position is safe, then replace the main players to rest for more important Champions League matches. Besides, in the Champions League match, the opponent is tough Barcelona, which is a very difficult match even though playing at home at Stamford Bridge.

[Promocodeudo]

This will definitely be a big list to them, as Cole Palmer will definitely be an interesting player that will definitely perform to his best at his form, now that we can not see him play, Chelsea will definitely continue with no Cold Palmer in their midfield.
I'm still sure that, Barcelona will never get an easy win on this game, from my own point though, as they will find it hard to get that 3 points and on the other hand, Chelsea will also find hard to keep Barcelona away from goal and this is something I trust Chelsea for.

The absent of Cole Palmer in the few matches between Chelsea, Barcelona and Arsenal on the other hand will not be easy for Chelsea, when a team is to play teams that may stand as a threat to them, it will be helping if all there key and important players are featured in the match,sj Chelsea can play without Cole Palmer no doubt, although it is also big challenge for the manager and we are looking at how he will be managing the available players in those matches, I understand how Barcelona match with Chelsea use to be but let's see if it will be like that this.

[Zackz5000]

Snip

Yeah, you are right, upset happens in the premier league every week and this weekend it could be against Chelsea or not but you can’t take away the fact that chelsea remains favorite in winning that match. We saw the momentum chelsea finished with before going into the international break so we believed that they would continue in the same fashion. Chelsea have been without Cole Palmer in recent game and in this game they would also be without him but I don’t think it would be a problem for them.

Burnley have been struggling this season and you can only think the struggle would continue in this game against Chelsea, burnley have record 3 wins so far this season and it against their fellow relegation battling teams, so it going to be very difficult to think they would record a win against Chelsea.

I just pray that Chelsea will not like to rest players against Burnley because of the champions League game against Barcelona on Tuesday. Chelsea has no reason to draw or even lose this game because, Burnley is not a strong opposition to make a team like Chelsea to rest players.Chelsea should approach this game with all sense of purpose. Chelsea needs to win this types of games if they are to remain on the top half of the table.

Don't you know Chelsea fans they will still give much of excuses if they probably draw or loss against Burnley and the excuse will be that they rest some key players to play against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions league, even if they loss with all their key men they will push the complain some were else i know Chelsea fans. The English premier league is also as important as the UEFA Champions league for Chelsea, so Burnley shouldn't stop them from picking 3 points, they stand favorite to win Burnley who has only won 3 games this season.

[minairia3]

I don't think Chelsea will play too badly without Cole Palmer. Palmer has only played 3 matches in the Premier League this season and has only scored one goal. Chelsea will be a little stronger if Palmer is in the squad, but I don't think we will see Chelsea's poor performance without him.
We have seen Chelsea's poor performance at the beginning of the season. But in the past matches, Chelsea's performance has stabilized. There is a lot of improvement in Chelsea's performance. The bonding between the players is also getting stronger. Winning against Arsenal and Barcelona is definitely a big challenge for Chelsea. But I think they will give a tough fight.

There's a point Promocode made which makes sense, yes Burnley might be easy for Chelsea without Palmer but how about against Arsenal and Barcelona? Chelsea's star players are seriously needed in those match so let's no feel that Palmer absence wouldn't be felt, the hope Chelsea has is that those teams are also undergoing injury crisis and some of their star players would be absent too.
 Anyways Chelsea shouldn't underestimate Burnley they need to make sure that the whole point is acquired since they're not sure of beating Arsenal. Well Chelsea always put up a fight in derby matches so there's a possibility of drawing if they don't win Arsenal.

I probably didn't explain it well. What I mean is that Cole Palmer's contribution to Chelsea's performance this season is very small. Palmer has played three matches in the Premier League for Chelsea this season. And Chelsea has not won any of these three matches.

We have seen Palmer in the squad against Manchester United, Brentford and Crystal Palace. Chelsea lost against Manchester United. They shared points with Brentford and Crystal Palace. Palmer was only able to score a goal in these three matches against Brentford. Since Cole Palmer's contribution to Chelsea's performance is very small, I don't think that Chelsea will suffer a big loss even if Palmer is not in the squad. Chelsea is playing quite well this season without Palmer.

[YUriy1991]

Is that not what Maresca is supposed to do playing against a team at the bottom of the table, why stress the important players starting them, when you can start the second team mixed with some starting team defenders to tighten the game a little, if the results are not going as planned he can then adjust by bringing more of the starting players to improve the result. Champions League match is the most important game for the week.

If I were Maresca, I wouldn't start the 2nd team because all clubs in the Premier League cannot be taken underestimated, even if they stand at the bottom table.
Chelsea needs the winning streak to hold their position in the Champions League zone. Burnley have the motivation to get the win to please their fans at home.
Two consecutive losses in other day make they want to fix to far away from the degradation zone.
Even H2H are leaning toward to Chelsea, but Burnley has ever held them to a draw, it happened on Stamford Bridge, and that possible they will repeat it again tonight.

In the English Premier League, nothing is certain, especially when playing away games, even though Burnley is currently in the bottom position with a ranking of 17th and Chelsea is in the third position of the English Premier League standings. Chelsea should not underestimate Burnley considering the competition at the top of the league standings is very fierce. A draw alone can throw Chelsea to the 6th or 7th position in the standings, distancing them from the championship zone. The match against Burnley is very important for Chelsea considering that currently Arsenal, the main competitor in the championship fight, his team is in trouble with injuries to several key players when facing Totemham. This opportunity has been seen by Enzo Maresca to catch Arsenal's position at the top of the standings, so a victory over Burnley is very important.

[Finebone]

The absent of Cole Palmer in the few matches between Chelsea, Barcelona and Arsenal on the other hand will not be easy for Chelsea, when a team is to play teams that may stand as a threat to them, it will be helping if all there key and important players are featured in the match,sj Chelsea can play without Cole Palmer no doubt, although it is also big challenge for the manager and we are looking at how he will be managing the available players in those matches, I understand how Barcelona match with Chelsea use to be but let's see if it will be like that this.

When I saw the news of how Cole will miss this two big games I felt bad, because we as football lovers want to see the best players in action in games like this. Though Chelsea have cope very well in his absence all this while that he has stayed injured, and I expected them to have more than enough to compete against this two top clubs, so I wouldn't be too much bothered about the absence of Cole palmer because I think that the team is already used to his absence and they have adapted seamlessly.

Additionally, Barcelona is a team that Chelsea knows how to execute games against, unless they will decide to play a different way, if not, Chelsea knows how to do the damage against teams that play high line like Barcelona, and if they went ahead and play in such a way, they will be brutally punished, it is only against arsenal they should be more worried due to how food they are defensively.

[Smack That Ace]

In the English Premier League, nothing is certain, especially when playing away games, even though Burnley is currently in the bottom position with a ranking of 17th and Chelsea is in the third position of the English Premier League standings. Chelsea should not underestimate Burnley considering the competition at the top of the league standings is very fierce. A draw alone can throw Chelsea to the 6th or 7th position in the standings, distancing them from the championship zone. The match against Burnley is very important for Chelsea considering that currently Arsenal, the main competitor in the championship fight, his team is in trouble with injuries to several key players when facing Totemham. This opportunity has been seen by Enzo Maresca to catch Arsenal's position at the top of the standings, so a victory over Burnley is very important.

Burnley are at the bottom  of the table but they are not considered weak. We often see this in the Premier League where smaller teams get points against bigger teams. Even in the last match against Chelsea, Burnley drew 2-2. Chelsea have won three of their last five matches.

This is the first  match after the international break. It is also burnley's home match. Naturally, the players are more confident at home. I know that Burnley are a weak team , but if Chelsea players make any mistakes, they are likely to lose points. Chelsea will have to perform carefully from the start of the match. If chelsea's performance is stable, they will win.

[barisbilgili]

I think the best players should start the game against Burnley, this is not a game to see them rested. They're to show responsibility whenever called upon. This game against Burnley is that kind of game that shouldn't be treated that way. It is also one of the major mistakes done by managers. Jinxing a premier league game they should have won for Champions league. One game at a time,  I honestly think they can beat Burnley from the first half of this game.

Maresca doesn't want to miss out on the opportunity to get three points, which is why he started against Burnley with his best players. I'm sure he won't rotate any players bacause the Premier League is different, and even inaccurate rotations can affect the result. I see Maresca understand this, so he just needs to maximize the game to get the three points. Burnley can't be underestimated, as they could pull off a surprise, like beating Sunderland. I agree with you, Chelsea can't afford to treat Burnley like that if they don't want to drop points.

Chelsea are currently highly motivated to compete for the top spot in the Premier League after securing third place, so I don't think they'll underestimate Burnley, regardless of the reason, Chelsea deserved to take all three points in this match.
I'm quite confident Chelsea will win this match, even with my bet on a -1.5 handicap for a Chelsea victory, Considering the overall strength, it's quite possible for Chelsea to win by more than one goal.