Chelsea’s likely lineup for Burnley clash.Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has a big decision to make in goal as his side kick off their Premier League season away to newly-promoted Burnley.
With youngster Thibaut Courtois playing 90 minutes in a recently friendly win over Real Sociedad, it could be a signal that the Belgian international is about to displace Petr Cech as the club’s number one, and he could get the nod here as the new season gets underway.
Elsewhere, new signings are likely to be on display for Chelsea, who look incredibly strong and are many people’s favourites for the title this year.
Goalkeeper and defence:
In goal, Thibaut Courtois could make his long-awaited Chelsea debut, with a back four of Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and new signing Filipe Luis ahead of him. Luis joins Courtois in moving to Stamford Bridge from Atletico Madrid, and will be hoping to fill Ashley Cole’s boots this season after the England veteran left on a free transfer to AS Roma.
Midfield:
Although Ramires will also be in contention for a start here, we expect last January’s superb signing Nemanja Matic to form a new-look Chelsea midfield here alongside summer signing Cesc Fabregas, who will make his first start in the Premier League since he left Arsenal in the summer of 2011.
Attack:
£32m man Diego Costa seems the obvious choice to start upfront for Chelsea after a strong pre-season, and he will be hoping to hit the ground running and prove that he can be the club’s saviour in attack. He will have plenty of quality service behind him as well, with Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard likely to be the attacking midfield three that Jose Mourinho goes for as his first choice this season.
Chelsea XI vs Burnley in full:
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