Burnley will be looking for a third consecutive win when they host Aston Villa at Turf Moor this Saturday.
The Pre-amble:
Burnley`s confidence is pretty high at the moment having seemingly turned a corner following back-to-back wins at home to Hull before the international break and away to Stoke in the Britannia Stadium last Saturday; their only two victories so far this season after twelve top flight games. They now have a great chance to make it three in a row when they face struggling Aston Villa at Turf Moor this Saturday in a Battle of Claret and Blue where victory could ultimately be vital to both teams` survival chances.
The Clarets are now looking in a much better position although are still in the relegation zone with ten points from twelve games. They are second from bottom two points ahead of QPR more but crucially there are now a handful of clubs within catching distance including Saturday`s opponents, Aston Villa. Paul Lambert’s men did relatively well in their game on Monday night against high-flying Southampton who are currently second in the table. A 1-1 draw and a point though still sees them looking over their shoulders in 16th spot at the chasing pack below desperate to escape the bottom three. The Villains now have twelve points from their twelve games just two more than Burnley so the scene is set for a vital six pointer on Saturday. Villa have scored just six league goals in 12 games so let`s hope our back four can continue Saturday`s impressive form and keep our opponents at bay this Saturday. They have not won in eight games now and their away form has also been less than impressive although they have managed to beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and pick up a point at West Ham. The other four games have all ended in defeat including a 2-0 loss at bottom club, QPR last month. A win on Saturday could see Burnley move out of the bottom three with four clubs above us two or less points ahead of the Clarets. (Leicester on 10 points, Hull on 11 points, Villa and Palace on 12 points) Come on lads let`s do this and repeat the exercise at home to Newcastle on Tuesday next week. The next sequence of games especially at home could be crucial to our survival chances so let`s get Turf Moor back to being a fortress.
Burnley Team News:
Sam Vokes continues to make progress along the road to recovery from a cruciate ligament injury. The good news is that he is now back in training with the Clarets first team and looks to be closer to making a return. Matty Taylor underwent surgery to fix a niggling Achilles problem and has been sidelined since the 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United at the end of August.
Burnley fans will also be hoping for good news regarding Scott Arfield. He missed the Stoke game after picking up a calf injury during training. He could be crucial to our chances of victory this Saturday. Nathaniel Chalobah was also sidelined last Saturday after picking up an injury playing for England Under 21 in their friendly game against France U21 in Brest during the international break. News is also awaited regarding Tom Heaton and Michael Duff who both picked up knocks at the Britannia Stadium. Duff was substituted in the 76th minute to be replaced by on loan Manchester United defender, Michael Keane
Player to watch: Stephen Ward
Ward has been playing well recently after replacing Ben Mee at left back a few games back. Mee could struggle to regain his place at the moment. The 29 year old Republic of Ireland international played a remarkable game against Stoke last Saturday with some Clarets fans giving him a ten-out-of-ten score for his defensive performance and naming him their man of the match.
Aston Villa Team News:
Villa seem to be suffering a crisis in the centre of defence due to injuries. Defender Philippe Senderos is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a thigh injury on international duty last month. Ron Vlaar (calf) and Nathan Baker (knee) also both missed out on Monday night`s game at home to Southampton indeed Baker has been ruled out of action for at least two months after being stretchered off in the goalless draw against West Ham United before the international break. Midfielder, Fabian Delph is also set to miss out again as the England international battles to recover from a dislocated shoulder he sustained in a training ground fall. Striker, Christian Benteke also continues to serve a three-match ban after being sent off against Spurs earlier this month.
Player to watch: Andreas Weimann
Villa have been finding it difficult to score so far this season with only six notched up so far from twelve league matches. Those six goals are shared equally (three each) between Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann. We all know quite a bit about Agbonlahor so today we take a look at the lesser known Austrian. The 23 year old Austrian international winger and striker actually joined Villa back in 2007 at the age of sixteen having begun his career at hometown club FC Stadlau and having previously played for Rapid Wien as a youth. He has since notched up over 90 appearances for Villa`s first team scoring seventeen goals and during his time at Villa Park also went out on loan to Watford in January 2011 to the end of that season.
Team & Tactics:
News is awaited on the injury front regarding a few players but Dyche has no reason to change the basic shape of the team or formation following two straight wins. He is likely to show faith in the same starting eleven again although if Scott Arfield is back to full fitness he could go straight back into the team at the expense of Michael Kightly.
Assuming the recently injured recover, there is no doubt our best starting eleven and bench would be as follows:
Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Ward, Arfield (or Kightly), Marney, Jones, Boyd, Ings, Barnes
Subs: Gilks, Keane, Mee, Wallace (or Kightly), Reid (or Chalobah), Jutkiewicz, Sordell
Ref Watch:
Graham Scott will take charge of this clash of the Claret & Blue! It will actually be his first Premier League game. His last game involving the Clarets was last season’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth back in February this year and in that match only two yellow cards were handed out. This season so far the Oxfordshire referee has dished out 55 yellows from his nineteen games but only dismissed one player.
Match Prediction:
This is exactly the sort of game we have to win if we are to survive in this league. Villa are struggling and we have to take advantage and clock up three points in this vital six pointer. Burnley`s confidence must be pretty high at the moment after two straight wins and I think that run will continue. 2-0 to Burnley!
Next Match:
We have a tricky game next at home to resurgent fifth-placed club, Newcastle United at Turf Moor on the Tuesday night (2nd December @7:45pm Kick Off) and then travel down to West London on Saturday 6th December (Kick-Off: 3pm) for another vital six pointer against bottom club, QPR.
