Burnley take on Sunderland at Turf Moor this Saturday still looking for their first win of the season
The Pre-amble:
The Clarets will have been encouraged by their last two league games. They picked up a valuable point against Manchester United at home before the international break and then followed that up with another 0-0 score line away to Crystal Palace last Saturday. Two points then from their opening four top flight games but still no win on the table! It would do the team a power of good confidence-wise to get their first victory on the board and they have an ideal opportunity to do just that this Saturday with Sunderland the visitors to Turf Moor. The Black Cats may have had success in the Capital One Cup after despatching Birmingham 3-0 at St Andrews but they too are also looking for their first Premier League win of the season. They have picked up just one more point than the Clarets and are currently 15th in the table just three places above Burnley who are still in the relegation zone in 18th spot. The visitors this Saturday have so far managed just three draws from their four league games and lost 1-0 in their last game on the road away to new boys, QPR. Sunderland manager Gus Poyet could have a tricky game on his hands against another promoted side this Saturday and the Clarets have a great chance of earning their first three points of the season especially if they play like they have in the last two league games.
Burnley Team News:
The bad news is that Danny Ings has picked up a hamstring injury after pulling-up and being substituted in the first half away to Palace last Saturday and could now be sidelined for up to a month. Ings went off three minutes before the break at Selhurst Park with a right hamstring pull after stretching for the ball in midfield. It looks like his replacement at Palace, Marvin Sordell could now make his first league start of the season unless Ashley Barnes is favoured up front to partner Lukas Jutkiewicz. Our other striker, Sam Vokes is of course still recovering from a serious knee injury. Matty Taylor sat out the Palace game with a slight niggle after picking up a minor Achilles injury and media reports suggest he could still be sidelined. His replacement, George Boyd though made a pretty impressive debut against the Eagles before tiring in the second-half and could keep his place in the starting eleven.
The other main question is whether our new loan signings will feature in the eighteen this Saturday. Both Chalobah and Keane signed on loan from Chelsea and Manchester United respectively on transfer deadline day missed out totally against Palace not even being selected on the bench.
Player to watch: Scott Arfield
The winger may have missed a penalty late on against Palace last Saturday but he was man-of-the-match in most people`s eyes and not for the first time this season. He has probably been the most consistent high performer this season so far and his performance against the Black Cats this Saturday could be crucial.
Sunderland Team News:
Poyet has the luxury of virtually a fully fit squad to choose from although that in itself could give him a few selection headaches with so many players chomping at the bit to make a start. Defender Billy Jones and midfielders Will Buckley and Jordi Gomez are all pushing for starts. Poyet has also indicated that striker Connor Wickham, who was effective as a lone striker last weekend against Spurs, will retain that role up front. If he does then Clarets fans hoping to see former Burnley striker, Steven Fletcher in action against the Clarets could be disappointed.
The Black Cats picked up a point at home to Spurs following their 2-2 draw last Saturday and it will be interesting to see how many changes if any Poyet makes to the starting eleven.
Player to watch: Vito Mannone
Burnley may have kept two clean sheets recently but so far they have struggled to score goals at the other end. In the five games so far this season, including the home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup, the Clarets have found the back of the net only once. It is vital that our attack starts to produce the goods so let`s hope Sunderland`s 26 year old keeper, Vito Mannone comes under significant pressure and is kept busy on Saturday. The Italian keeper started his career at Arsenal and made 15 first-team appearances for the Gunners. His time there also involved loan spells at Barnsley and Hull City (twice). In July 2013, Mannone signed a two year contract with Sunderland, for an undisclosed fee.
Team & Tactics:
Sean Dyche once again has many options although his strike force has now been depleted following the hamstring injury to Danny Ings last Saturday. Has Marvin Sordell done enough to make a start against Sunderland following his performance against Palace last Saturday after coming on to replace Ings? He hasn`t yet set the world alight but perhaps deserves another chance to shine and make his first start of the season this Saturday. Ashley Barnes though may have something to say about that. I think Dyche though could be tempted to keep faith with the team that earned a well-deserved point last Saturday (Ings accepted of course). I thought debutant George Boyd was very impressive in the first half against Palace and he seemed to slot in effortlessly into the side. He may have tired significantly in the second-half but he probably did enough in the first half to keep his starting eleven place for the Sunderland game ahead of Matty Taylor who could be sidelined anyway with a niggling Achilles injury . I suspect the new boys, Chalobah and Keane may once again have to wait for their first start but sense both could make the bench this time.
I expect the line-up to look something like this:
Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Boyd, Marney, Jones, Arfield, Sordell, Jutkiewicz
Subs: (from) Gilks, Keane, Ward, Reid, Kightly, Wallace, Chalobah, Taylor, Barnes
Ref Watch:
Anthony Taylor is the referee for this clash. His last game involving the Clarets was back in November 2011 against Hull City in the KC Stadium. That was certainly a memorable game and hopefully a good omen. Burnley were 2-0 down but rallied to come back late on and win 3-2. Just three players saw yellow in that game. The Cheshire referee has not sent anybody off in his four games so far this season although 13 players have picked up yellow cards. Last season in his 31 games, he was once again pretty lenient with only 3 players all that season seeing red and 102 players seeing yellow.
Match Prediction:
There have been enough encouraging signs recently that suggest we are close to winning our first match of the season especially in front of our home crowd at Fortress Turf Moor! Sunderland are struggling and have also yet to win a Premier League game this season. This has to be our best chance so far of picking up three points and if we play like we did against United then Sunderland could be in trouble. 3-1 Clarets!
Next Match:
It`s another Sky Sports Live match next up! We play West Brom at the Hawthorns on Sunday 28th September 2014 and fans are reminded that as well as being played on a Sunday the match also kicks-off late at 4pm!
