Conte wary of Burnley’s fine home form

Chelsea will face a much tougher game tomorrow than their straightforward 3-0 win in August over Burnley because of the latter’s remarkable home form, manager Antonio Conte said yesterday.

The Italian has done his homework on the statistics. “They’re really strong at home, they’re third in the table for home games with Chelsea top and Tottenham second,” he told a news conference.

Burnley have taken 28 of their 29 points this season from matches at Turf Moor, losing at home only to Swansea City on the opening day, Arsenal in October and Manchester City in November.

Since then they have won seven successive home games in the Premier League and FA Cup.

“It’s a fantastic achievement,” Conte added.

“The style is always the same. They fight a lot, play a lot of long balls and put a lot of pressure when we have the ball.”

After taking four points from games against Liverpool and Arsenal, Chelsea’s players were given extra time off.

“I thought they deserved it because we had three games in seven days,” said Conte, who took the opportunity to return to Italy. “It’s important to have two or three days off, to relax with the family, and come back fresher.”

Despite having a nine-point lead at the top of the table, with only one defeat in the last 18 league matches, Conte insisted the top six teams can still win the title.

“If we think that with a nine-point lead we are close to winning the title it’s a big mistake,” he said.

Premier League Table

P    W    D    L    GF    GA    GD    Pts

Chelsea    24    19    2    3    51    17    34    59

Tottenham Hotspur    24    14    8    2    46    16    30    50

Manchester City    24    15    4    5    49    29    20    49

Arsenal    24    14    5    5    52    28    24    47

Liverpool    24    13    7    4    52    30    22    46

Manchester United    24    12    9    3    36    21    15    45

Everton    24    11    7    6    40    27    13    40

West Bromwich    24    10    6    8    32    29    3    36

West Ham United    24    9    4    11    32    41    -9    -31

Watford    24    8    6    10    29    40    -11    30

Stoke City    24    7    8    9    29    36    -7    29

Burnley    24    9    2    13    26    35    -9    29

Southampton    24    7    6    11    24    31    -7    27

AFC Bournemouth    24    7    5    12    35    47    -12    26

Middlesbrough    24    4    9    11    19    27    -8    21

Leicester City    24    5    6    13    24    41    -17    21

Swansea City    24    6    3    15    29    54    -25    21

Hull City    24    5    5    14    22    47    -25    20

Crystal Palace    24    5    4    15    32    45    -13    19

Sunderland    24    5    4    15    24    42    -18    19

Fixtures

Today

Arsenal v Hull City; Emirates Stadium:14:30; Middlesbrough v Everton; Riverside Stadium:17:00; West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion;London Stadium:17:00; Sunderland v Southampton; Stadium of Light:17:00; Manchester United v Watford; Old Trafford; 17:00; Stoke City v Crystal Palace; Britannia Stadium;17:00; Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur; Anfield:19:30

Tomorrow

Burnley v Chelsea;Turf Moor:15:30; Swansea City v Leicester City; Liberty Stadium: 18:00

Monday

AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City; Vitality Stadium:22:00

— Reuters/SuperSport