Latest updates from the 8pm BST match at Stamford BridgeTitle race, top four, promotion and relegation – what’s still at stake?Feel free to email Michael or to tweet: @michaelbutler18 7.48pm BST “Re Emerson,” writes Neal Butler, “as a Chelsea fan, I don’t think he’s great, but the team works better with him at left-back than with Alonso. Emerson’s a bit more disciplined and faster than Alonso, so him playing means the left-sided midfielder doesn’t have to track back all the time. I, and I guess most Chelsea fans who aren’t blinkered by Alonso’s attacking prowess at wing-back, would snap your hand off for a left-back half as good as Ashley Cole.”@michaelbutler18 : it's not that @emersonpalmieri is great. It's just that @marcosalonso03 cannot play in a back 4 to save his life. He is great going forward for #cfc but they get torn apart on that side when defending. See @ChelseaFC vs @Arsenal (3-2) 2nd game of the season 7.46pm BST Gus Poyet is the guest in the Sky studio tonight, which is all the reason I need to re-post this. 7.42pm BST Drew Chappell has emailed in, as have a few others with the same sentiment. “My thoughts on Emerson: He’s not Alonso, so there’s that.” 7.41pm BST Burnley are unsurprisingly unchanged from the side that beat Cardiff – with eight Englishman in their starting XI (plus Ashley Barnes, who was born in Bath appeared for Austria at youth level). They line up in a uncompromising 4-4-2. 7.32pm BST Chelsea fans, penny for your thoughts on Emerson? I have never been very impressed by the Italian in the Chelsea games I’ve watched, but he seems to be quite popular with you lot?Email me michael.butler@theguardian.com or tweet @michaelbutler18, if you want.EMERSON, CHRISTENSEN, CHO, RLC LETS GOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/bwErDaXaIt 7.21pm BST Leeds have blown it. Read all about it. Related: Brentford 2-0 Leeds United: Championship - as it happened 7.14pm BST I suspect that unless Higuain scores tonight/plays a blinder, this will be his final start for Chelsea. Can’t see how Sarri can continue to justify playing him ahead of Giroud, with such difficult fixtures to come after tonight. 7.10pm BST Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Higuain, Hazard. Subs: Barkley, Pedro, Caballero, Kovacic, Giroud, Zappacosta, Cahill. Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood. Subs: Gudmundsson, Brady, Gibson, Hart, Ward, Vydra, Long. Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) 7.05pm BST The weekend couldn’t have gone much better for Chelsea. Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United all lost, and with a win tonight, Maurizio Sarri and co will go third. Yes, they will have played one more game than their top-four rivals. Admittedly, they could still be caught be any of them, particularly because Chelsea have a tough run-in (Manchester United away, Watford and Leicester away) and a Europa League campaign to contend. There are lots of things to worry about in the future (the departure of Eden Hazard, the transfer embargo, global warming) but tonight – skipping towards Stamford Bridge in some sort of delirious Bank Holiday weekend haze – Chelsea fans should be able to enjoy themselves. Continue readingreadfullarticle
