Chelsea Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Burnley

The Blues are desperate to finish in the top four to secure Champions League football and will aim to bounce back from the loss to Liverpool

Chelsea are still in the fight for a spot in next season’s Champions League, with the Blues battling Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United for a top-four place.

Maurizio Sarri’s side suffered defeat last weekend as they went down 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield, leaving them in fifth place behind both Arsenal, on goal difference, and Spurs.

Burnley have all but secured their Premier League status for next season after a difficult campaign under Sean Dyche and he will be hoping for much better from his side after the Blues won the reverse fixture 4-0 at Turf Moor back in October.

Chelsea’s latest concern is over Eden Hazard’s fitness as he was seen limping after his side’s Europa League win over Slavia Prague. Maurizio Sarri has since moved to play down concerns over the Belgian, describing the injury as “nothing serious”.

Antonio Rudiger is, however, at risk of missing out on Monday after being hauled off injured against Liverpool with a knee injury, with Andreas Christensen again set to deputise.

Marcos Alonso and Ethan Ampadu are also doubtful after missing the midweek Europa League clash that Chelsea won 4-3 on the night to set-up a semi-final meeting with Frankfurt.

The Blues have a clean bill of health otherwise, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek continues to manage his chronic back problems, which led him to withdraw from the England squad in March.

Neither Chelsea nor Burnley have any suspensions to contend with ahead of Monday’s match.

Chelsea will hope to have Eden Hazard back from his knock sustained against Slavia Prague. Gonzalo Higuain, meanwhile, is in dire need of goals to convince his temporary employers to take up the option and make his loan move from Juventus permanent.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek appear to have forced their way into Sarri’s first-team plans after starting the last three league games in a row, and both were left out of the line-up on Thursday.

Andreas Christensen will continue to play if Rudiger is out, leaving Gary Cahill on the bench, despite having not played since November 2018. Cesar Azpilicueta is the only Chelsea player to have started in every league game.

Peter Crouch is out with an abdominal injury ahead of his side’s visit to Stamford Bridge. Steven Defour, who has seen his career stutter due to injury, is also out with a calf problem.

Aaron Lennon has an unknown return date relating to his knee issue, but Phil Bardsley could return from a freak injury where he sliced his leg open on a table while playing head tennis.

The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 20.00 BST (15:00 ET) on Sunday and it will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. In the US, the game is available on NBC Sports.

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