Burnley v Chelsea: Will the leaders slip up at Turf Moor?

Chelsea’s convincing win over Birmingham in midweek sent them back to the top of the table but Burnley’s defeat at Bolton, combined with Wolves’ point against Liverpool, saw the Clarets slip into the bottom three for the first time this season. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have been on fire in recent weeks while Brian Laws still seeks his first point as Burnley boss. This could be another blue day for the new manager at Turf Moor.

Burnley’s home form has been their saviour this season. Only Wigan Athletic have left Turf Moor with maximum points but Chelsea are strong favourites to become the second team to do it, despite having failed to win away from home in the league since beating Arsenal in November. Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal have all failed to silence the passionate fans at Turf Moor but they were against Owen Coyle’s team, not Brian Laws’s. Can Brian lay down the law to Lampard and Anelka and co?

With Chelsea’s main rivals squaring up at the Emirates tomorrow, Ancelotti’s men could be four points clear with a game in hand by the end of play tonight. And such is his confidence of victory today, Ancelotti is likely to keep Drogba and Kalou fresh for Tuesday’s trip to Hull City.

This will be Chelsea’s first away game in the league in 2010 and they will be fully aware that they have been caught short three times before on the road – Wigan, Villa and Manchester City. Ancelotti will not want to slip up here. Unsurprisingly, no-one in the Panel can see it happening either.

Burnley v Chelsea; Kick Off 5:30pm 30 Jan 2010

Prediction Panel
Our panel contains both Squarefootball writers and readers, the writers are marked: (sqf).

Dave Blackburn : 0 - 3
Chris Cox : 0 - 4
Graham Enwright : 1 - 3
Sue Gardener : 0 - 4
Chris Goodwin : 0 - 3
Paul Grech (sqf) : TBC
Colin Illingworth (sqf) : 1 - 2
Hugh Larkin (sqf) : TBC
Peter Lee : 0 - 2
Don McMahon : 0 - 3
Antony Melvin (sqf) : 0 - 2
Paul O'Meara (sqf) : TBC
Dave Nash : 0 - 1
Stephen Orford (sqf) : TBC
Tony Ratton : 0 - 2
Peter Rendle : 0 - 2
Dan Taylor : TBC
Andy Wakeman : 1 - 3
Isaac Williams : TBC
Mark Williams : TBC

Panel Verdict

Nobody can see anything other than a Chelsea win.

Home: 0; Draw: 0; Away: 13; TBC: 7.

* Do we have it right, or do you know better? Please don't bother with derisory comments on the predictions after the match - unless you also pulled us up before it!