Chelsea can be caught by surprise in Premier League season opener, suggests Burnley defender Ben Mee

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Burnley are hoping to capitalise on early-season uncertainty as they bid to surprise Premier League champions Chelsea. 

Last season, Burnley lost 3-0 at Chelsea and drew 1-1 at Turf Moor but defender Ben Mee believes that results early in the last campaign, including home wins over Liverpool and Everton and a draw at Manchester United, are a cause for optimism.

'You might as well play them early, you might catch them by surprise, you never know,' said Mee.

Burnley hope to frustrate Chelsea's new striker Alvaro Morata on his league debut 

The Premier League champions start the defence of their title at home to Burnley on Saturday

'It's a tough start but we've got some good games coming up in the first few matches and it's exciting. Our performances against the big teams were pretty good last year, barring Chelsea away.

'The rest of them were actually really good performances and we were unlucky not to get something from a couple of them, but it'll be a really good test for us early in the season.'

Mee believes that Chelsea's new striker Alvaro Morata, who joined from Real Madrid last month, could pose a threat to Burnley defenders but is confident that team will come up with and stick to a solid game plan.

Defender Ben Mee (left) is confident his side can surprise Chelsea in an early upset

'It will be good to see what Morata is like on Saturday,' Mee added.

'For a defender especially it's worth watching strikers' movements, not too much, not overkill but I think you can get an idea of what type of player they are like.

'Some players have different styles but that won't affect the way that we go about our business. We'll have a game-plan and I'm sure we'll have the same game-plan regardless of whoever plays up front.'