Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has warned his players that this weekend's fixture away at Burnley is going to be tough.
The Blues nine point gap at the top of the Premier League table could be cut to six by Tottenham Hotspur by the time Chelsea take to the field for the Sunday lunchtime kick-off. Speaking to journalists at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham earlier this afternoon, Conte knew of the dangers that the Clarets pose to his side:
"For sure it will be a tough game, I have read the stats. Burnley have won 28 points at home this season and just one point away.
They have won their last five home games and scored a lot of goals towards the end of matches. They are a really strong team".
Comfortable
"They are third in the table for home form (behind Chelsea and Tottenham) and they are in good form", Conte continued.
"They want to beat us because we are top and for this type of game we must pay great attention but we are preparing well. My players know the type of game we have to face."
The Blues ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in the corresponding fixture at the end of August but the Italian has highlighted the danger of Burnley's style when playing at Turf Moor:
"We are studying them very well, it's important to know their strengths and weaknesses. They are a good team, they fight a lot, play lots of long balls and put a lot of pressure on their opponents."
And he reserved praise for one man in particular:
"Andre Gray is a really good player, a really clever player.
He is always in the right position. When they win the second ball, he is in the right position and has the pace to attack at the defensive line."
Pressure
With Chelsea's great form and their lead at the top, it is almost predictable what Antonio Conte will be asked about in his press conferences at the moment and once again he remained defiant that the title race isn't over:
"I think there are six very strong teams who can fight to win the title, including Manchester United.
Until the end of the season, you have to live with this type of pressure. If the opponent wins they reduce the gap, if they don’t win you have an opportunity to extend. We have good experience of this pressure, if there’s good news about the other teams then yes we’ll be happy but we must only count on ourselves."
Chelsea have a full squad available for Sunday's match despite David Luiz, who Conte described as "a warrior", suffering pain in his knee. But he will have an opportunity to rest Luiz and a few of his other key players next weekend if he so wishes, as Chelsea travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the #FA Cup fifth round clash.
