For the past few months, Chelsea have spent nearly every waking hour playing football, training for playing football, or recovering from playing … football. Football, football, football!
You might say that’s to be expected, given it’s their job and it’s the middle of the season, but as Liam Rosenior pointed out in his pre-match press conference, a lot of them had been doing that essentially non-stop for the past 18 months. So the head coach told his players to take some time off after last Friday’s win over Hull City in the FA Cup, and judging by social media, most of them didn’t need to be asked twice to do so.
Rosenoir joked in his press conference that the reaction from the players on the training ground after they all returned from the four-day break was that they wanted “more days off”, but obviously the intent is to help them rejuvenate and refocus for the upcoming stretch of massive games both in the league and in Europe.
Burnley at home shouldn’t be one of those, and it should be a good chance for a relatively easy three points to get us back into the swing of things. Should be.
Date / Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026, 15.00 GMT; 10am EST; 8:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Lewis Smith (on pitch); Michael Salisbury (VAR) — first Chelsea game for referee Smith
Forecast: Drizzle, drizzle, you know
On TV: none (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); Canal+ Sport 4 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: none (UK); Peacock (USA); JioHotstar (India); SuperSport GoTV, DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: If nothing else, the brief break has had the expected impact in terms of getting rid of some fitness concerns in the squad, with Rosenior confirming that both Cole Palmer and Reece James are fully fit and available and only those who were dealing with longer-term injuries — Marc Cucurella, Jamie Gittens, Dário Essugo, and Levi Colwill — still missing in action. And while this game will come too soon for him, Roméo Lavia did make a rehab start for the U21s on Friday, and is on track to make his return next weekend.
The two points dropped against Leeds United last time out make it even more imperative that we collect all three points from this one. We’re now in the final trimester of the season and the competition for the last couple Champions League places will be fierce. Our schedule looks daunting once the calendar turns over to March, and every point will be precious.
Burnley team news: Burnley look set to drop straight back down after earning promotion from the Championship last season. Mathematically they’re not out of it yet, but they are nine points from safety with a dozen games to play. That said, results since Christmas have been a bit better than before, and they did get a win in their last league game, their first in the Premier League since October. But then they suffered the ignominy of losing to third division Mansfield Town in the FA Cup last weekend.
The loan signing of an out-of-favor James Ward-Prowse from West Ham was their only notable bit of business in January, as they deal with several long-term injuries, including to midfielders Josh Cullen and Mike Trésor. Defenders Axel Tuanzebe, Jordan Beyer, and Connor Roberts are also out, as is striker Armando Broja. His absence is only expected to last a few weeks, but the former Chelsea prospect has managed just one goal all season.
The Clarets built their promotion on an historically good defense, but they have the worst defensive record in the Premier League and have kept just three clean sheets all season. They can score goals if presented with opportunities however, and Jadon Anthony does have six of them in the league to lead the team, with former Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu chipping in with a few as well.
Previously: We won 2-0 at Turf Moor earlier this season — Neto and Enzo with the goals — but Burnley did earn a 2-2 draw with just ten men the last time they came to the Bridge (in 2024).
