THE MAN WHO PLAYS A CORKER EVERY MINUTE
BURNLEY are yet to beat Chelsea at Turf Moor in a Premier League match (P4 W0 D1 L3) – their last home league win over the Blues was in April 1983 in the second tier.
Chelsea have lost just one of their eight Premier League games against Burnley (W5 D2), a 2-3 home defeat on the opening day of last season.
Burnley have won just two points from their last 12 home Premier League games against the ‘big six’, drawing two and losing 10 since a 2-0 win over Liverpool in August 2016.
Chelsea are unbeaten after the first nine games of a top-flight season for just the fifth time in their history alongside 1964-65 (3rd), 1966-67 (9th), 2005-06 (1st) and 2014-15 (1st).
Burnley have lost six of their last seven home Premier League games played on Sunday (W1), losing each of the last four in a row, including two this season against Watford (1-3) and Manchester United (0-2).
Burnley have won seven points from their last four games (W2 D1 L1), one more than they picked up in their previous 11 Premier League matches.
Maurizio Sarri could become the first Chelsea manager to remain unbeaten in his first 10 Premier League matches in charge of the club (P9 W6 D3 L0).
This will be Burnley boss Sean Dyche’s 10th Premier League match versus an Italian manager (W3 D1 L5), with the Englishman winning three of his last six such games.
Chelsea’s Ross Barkley has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances; the last Englishman to net in three consecutive games for Chelsea in the top flight was Frank Lampard in February 2013 (4).
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has averaged a goal or assist every 66.7 minutes in the Premier League this season (7 goals + 3 assists in 667 mins); his best mins/goal involvement ratio in a single campaign in the competition. an England cap, which I didn’t think was going to come, but I don’t want to rest on what I’ve done.”
Cork, 29, faces Chelsea tomorrow at Turf Moor and never played for the first team but claims the 12 years he spent there from nine with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Brendan Rodgers and John Terry was the best education he could have received.
“I never made a competitive appearance for Chelsea, which will always be my main regret,” he said.
“But the one thing I did really enjoy was the chance to go out on loan.
“If I had been at any other club, I would not have got those opportunities. Me and Ryan Bertrand went out on loan at 17 to Bournemouth in League One and I don’t think many kids could do that now at 17. That and being around John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Drogba, players like that.
“Plus Jose Mourinho was manager and Brendan Rodgers was our youth coach. We were learning from the best in the business.”
Cork is a total professional and dressed smartly for his photograph, (below) prompting much leg-pulling from his car-share buddy Chris Wood.
He does not let success go to his head and his dad, former Wimbledon star Alan, would never let that happen.
He has even told him he won’t win another England cap.
“He has!” laughed Cork. “He’s always been like that. He never wants me to get too up or too down.”
Cork grew up on his dad’s Crazy Gang stories and Burnley have a similar team spirit – without too much crazy.
Rather than beating someone up or cutting up clothes, Cork says their worst punishment is having to wade into the River Calder by their stateof-the-art training ground at Gawthorpe Hall.
“It was a bit crazy some of the stuff they got up to and you can’t do that now,” he said. “My favourite stories are too rude to tell! “Walking into rivers is tame compared to what they used to do, but we like to think we also have a great team spirit.”