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Burnley vs Chelsea


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Burnley vs Chelsea F.C.

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FAPL, 30 Jan 2010, Turf Moor, 1730 KO

Brian Laws takes on Chelsea in his first home match in charge, as Carlo Ancelotti's table-topping Blues look to continue their march to the title.

The former Sheffield Wednesday boss was not the universal candidate to replace the departing Owen Coyle - now on Bolton's payroll - and has already suffered two defeats in charge of his new side since taking over. The first was a Wayne Rooney-inspired demolition at Old Trafford against Manchester United in which the Clarets hit the post and found themselves denied time and time again by Edwin van der Sar.

The second was a 1-0 defeat against Reading thanks to a goal from the exceptional young talent of Gylfi Sigurdsson, who slotted home with 87 minutes on the clock. Burnley were foiled by superb saves by Adam Federeci, who impressed at Anfield with impressive stops in front of the Kop End as the Royals recorded their second Premier League scalp to continue their FA Cup renaissance.

Burnley, after a promising start to the season, have struggled somewhat. Despite doing what most have failed to do this season - leave the City of Manchester Stadium with a point rather than a trouncing - they have not recorded more than a single point away from home. Turf Moor has been their saving grace this season; beating the likes of Everton and Manchester United in front of their ferociously-vocal home supporters.

It seems a long time ago that Burnley were celebrating knocking Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal out of the Carling Cup, and sampling the tantalising taste of a Final showdown with Manchester United. This season, Chelsea have hammered the northerners at Stamford Bridge and Arsenal (and Cesc Fabregas in particular) showed their class with a superb display at Turf Moor. Times have changed drastically for Burnley.

Things have been hard for Burnley fans across the country. Their away day blues have been added to by the loss of manager Owen Coyle, whose prolonged move to Bolton was worthy enough to rival the Chelsea-Lyon transfer saga of Michael Essien's move to SW6, has left the club in turmoil and perilously close to the relegation zone. Whilst Turf Moor has been key to their success this season, the Clarets will not relish the visit of Carlo Ancelotti's side, who have now increased their unbeaten run to seven games. Having scored an impressive sixteen goals over their past four matches (and conceding only three in return), the Blues have recovered their form after a stuttering December that has seen the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United make ground up on the one-time runaway leaders of the Premier League.

But their rivals' inability to take full advantage of Chelsea's shortcomings means that the Blues are just two points off top spot with two games in hand. And, as fate should have it, Arsenal and United play each other this weekend.

This could be the day Chelsea take a massive leap towards the title. This could be the day the dream becomes a reality; that three years of frustration could be on the verge of coming to an end. It might only be January, but with the likes of Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou missing, this could be a pivotal moment for Chelsea's season.

Let's just hope to God that this time we make our chances count.

MATCH CHAT HERE

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