Getty Chelsea is the league's best club on opening day.
Chelsea begin another title defense on Saturday, hosting Burnley in the first of seven games on the Saturday slate.
Chelsea are the league’s best team when it comes to opening the season. They haven’t lost an opening day fixture since Coventry in 1998, winning 15 games over that span. They’re missing some starters, namely Eden Hazard, but new singing Alvaro Morata is set to make his debut up top.
Burnley finished 16th in the table last season, and added five players in the summer to improve their chances. But they won just once on the road last season, and will be outmatched by both the talent of Chelsea and the atmosphere of Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea earned the title of champions, but haven’t exactly waltzed into the start of this year’s campaign. Chelsea lost the FA Cup and the Community Shield, and along with some mixed messages from Antonio Conte, it’s clear that everything isn’t roses at Stamford Bridge. Given the struggles, Burnley are an ideal opponent to open the schedule. Burnley have lost all three Premier League openers in club history, and have never beaten Chelsea in six attempts in Premier League play.
Here are the basics:
DATE: Saturday, August 12, 2017
CHANNEL: NBC Sports Network
KICKOFF TIME: 7:30 a.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Stamford Bridge
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all live streaming information
LINEUP
Chelsea: Courtois, Rudiger, Luiz, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso, Willian, Batshuayi, Boga
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Ward, Guamundsson, Cork, Hendrick, Defour, Brady, Vokes