The two teams duking it out for the fourth and final UCL qualification position from the Premier League table has the same major problem- ridiculous inconsistency. Fifth place Manchester United and fourth place Chelsea have the same issue- beating the big boys, losing to the small sides.

Chelsea have beaten Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but they have also taken just one point from Bournemouth, Southampton, and Brighton & Hove Albion. Up next is a home fixture against Burnley, who currently sit 15th in the table. In the reverse fixture, Christian Pulisic netted a hat trick, but he’s out injured for this one. So who will take his place in the line-up? What about the other ten men on the pitch?

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Tomorrow, when Chelsea hosts Burnley FC at Stamford Bridge, it’ll be a match-up of two sides trying to maintain the status they currently, but precariously, hold in the table. The Blues are fourth, in the final UCL qualification slot, but their lead is just five points.

Burnley are in the safety zone, free from the drop, but they’re 15th, only three positions about the relegation area. Let’s take a look at the team news for this one, starting with the hosts. The big news surrounds Christian Pulisic, who is out a few weeks with an adductor (muscle in the thigh connected to the hip) injury.

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2020 is off to a rough start for Chelsea FC left wing Christian Pulisic. The 21-year-old American is now set for a substantial spell on the sidelines after having suffered an adductor injury in training. According to Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, the injury was suffered in training ahead of last weekend’s FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest.

He is definitely out for this weekend’s fixture against Burnley, and is probably on the shelf for the league fixture against Newcastle United next weekend and the arch-rivalry match against on Arsenal on Jan. 21.

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Chelsea defender Danny Drinkwater was an instrumental part of Leicester City’s magical, 5,000-1 odds Premier League title winning team of 2015-16. After reaching these heights, he cashed in and moved to Chelsea FC at the 11th hour of the 2017 summer transfer window deadline day for £35 million.

From there, his career went into a major nosedive, but perhaps today is the start of a rebirth and rebound. The west London side has officially loaned him out to Aston Villa for the rest of the season.

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With the transfer ban reduced to just that one window, Chelsea FC are now open for business again this January. That is a very welcome development to Christian Pulisic, the team’s only real major addition from last January.

“It is normal that teams look to improve and and if players do come in there is competition, that is how it goes,” said the 21-year-old who’s had a roller coaster first season at Chelsea thus far. “So we’ll be ready for that and hopefully we’ll have players that come in and want to help us.”

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Chelsea FC are tied for third, all-time, in FA Cup final wins with eight and tied for fourth in title game appearances with 13. The Blues have been very successful in the tournament recently too; winning it all in 2018 and finishing runners-up in 2017.

Sunday sees the west London side commencing their quest for more domestic glory, as they’ll host Nottingham Forest for a third round fixture. They’ll wear special shirts for the occasion too (more on that here). In turning to the team news for this one, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marko van Ginkel remain long term absentees while shorter term absentees Olivier Giroud (ankle) and Marcos Alonso (back) are also still out of commission.

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The FA Cup gets going in earnest this weekend, and Chelsea FC will take on Nottingham Forest in a third round clash at Stamford Bridge. The home side will be wearing a special outfit for this occasion, one that harkens back to their triumphant glory against Leeds United in the 1970 FA Cup final replay.

As a posting on the club’s official site states: “Chelsea adopted yellow socks and yellow trim on the blue shorts, a change from our traditional white socks and trim in order to avoid colour clashes with the opposition. To complete the look we adopted a golden lion badge to be in keeping with the rest of the trim detail.” [Read more…]

The first Premier League match of 2020, and of the 20s ended in a draw that featured a goal as amazing as you’ll ever see. Visiting Chelsea went up 1-0 on the strength of Cesar Azpilicueta, celebrating his 100th start as Chelsea captain with a goal in the 10′.

However, the hosts, Brighton & Hove Albion, equalized in the 84′ with this overhead bicycle kick from Alireza Jahanbaksh, a scoring strike so aesthetically pleasing, you’ll need to watch it a few times. Now that the new year and decade has begun, the standard has been set for top goal! Take a look:

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As 2019 turns to 2020, it’s a good time to look at what Chelsea have done so far this year and where they are right now. The youngsters, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and more, are developing along, as manager Frank Lampard leads a rebuild that didn’t have the advantage of a summer transfer window going for it in the summer. However, they will have the chance to add some reinforcements in January.

Their first match in 2020 is a visit to Brighton, a team that was once caught in the relegation battle, but is now more in the mid-table conversation. Trossard and Maupay are two huge attacking options that have helped the Seagulls move up the table.

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Do we have 2020 vision? Yes, indeed we do! The very first Premier League match of 2020 will kick off at Brighton & Hove Albion, where the Seagulls will host fourth place Chelsea FC. Actually being in the top four at the mid point of the season is way better than most expected of the Blues, back in the preseason.

As an added bonus, they have qualified for the UEFA Champions League round of 16, plus the transfer ban has been lifted and now they can buy new players again in the new window. As for Brighton, they have gone from being one of the least watchable teams in the Premiership to one of the most compelling.

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