Burnley face Charlton Athletic at Turf Moor this Saturday hoping for their third consecutive home win and clean sheet under new gaffer, Sean Dyche
The Pre-amble:
The Clarets will be hoping to return to winning ways on Saturday after Sean Dyche suffered his first defeat last Saturday away to Ipswich. In only his fourth game in charge, Dyche now has to plot how to defeat Charlton Athletic at Turf Moor on Saturday and will be hoping he can maintain his 100% record on home soil with two victories and two clean sheets so far after beating Wolves and Leeds United. The Clarets missed the opportunity to march nearer the play-offs positions after losing to bottom club Ipswich at Portman Road last Saturday. They were just one point off sixth placed club and local rivals, Blackburn Rovers before the clash in deepest Suffolk but have now dropped to 13th spot with 23 points from 16 games. The sixth placed club is now Huddersfield and they are four points clear of the Clarets so it is crucial we win against the Addicks this Saturday to keep up the pressure and keep our promotion hopes alive.
Charlton boss Chris Powell steered his side to a 2-0 away victory against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Sunday; the Addicks thus moving to within three points of the Clarets in 16th spot. The club were promoted from League One as Champions last season but have generally struggled in the Championship. At the moment their form could be best described as indifferent. In the last six games, they have lost two, drawn two and won two down mainly to their poor home form. In terms of their away form though they have been more impressive and the Clarets will need to be on their guard. They have not lost since September when Derby beat them 3-2 at Pride Park. Since that time they have won three and drawn two games on the road.
Burnley Team News:
Ross Wallace picked up his fifth yellow card against Ipswich last Saturday and now faces a one-match suspension. Sean Dyche though has plenty of other options to choose from on the wing with Junior Stanislas and Cameron Stewart waiting for the opportunity to return to the starting eleven not to mention the forgotten flankers, George Porter and poor old Keith Treacy!
We await news on the foot injury sustained by Ben Mee in the last home match against Leeds. He hobbled off in that game and missed the last match at Portman Road. Danny Lafferty took his place at left back and he will be fighting to keep his place if Ben Mee remains sidelined but could face competition from Joseph Mills.
Player to watch: Michael Duff
Picked up a man of the match recently and has looked solid. Duff has started the last six games which must be frustrating for David Edgar. Can he do the business again in the back four against Charlton? Well he seems to be playing with new found confidence so let`s hope so.
Charlton Athletic Team News:
Southampton defender Dan Seaborne is currently at the club on a one-month loan after signing for Charlton last week. He played in the Bristol City game replacing Dorian Dervite and looks set to make a start again against the Clarets on Saturday. This was the only change Chris Powell made to the team that beat high-flying Cardiff City 5-4 in the previous midweek game. Also signed on a one-month loan the same week was Wolves Iceland international midfielder, Eggert Jonsson but he failed to make the eighteen on Sunday. With no news of any new injury concerns, Charlton look set to name an unchanged team.
20 year old Cedric Evina tore a cartilage in his left knee during training earlier this month and following surgery could remains sidelined for some time although he has commenced his rehab and is back in training. Midfielder, Lawrie Wilson also strained a quad muscle during the defeat to Middlesbrough recently and will be out for a few weeks. Metatarsal victim left back, Rhoys Wiggins remains on the log-term injured list.
Player to watch: Leon Cort
Central defender, Leon Cort is of course no stranger to Burnley fans. He was signed by Brian Laws during his tenure as manager at Turf Moor but failed to make any impression. The 33 year old Guyana international now seems settled with his new club after first joining them on loan in August 2011 before returning to Burnley. Cort was then released by Burnley in January 2012 and a few days later he signed a permanent deal with Charlton. It will be interesting to see if he has made any significant improvements as a defender at this level but certainly he could be a weakness that Burnley might know how to exploit! It would appear he has also now got a bit of a goal scoring bug and is currently Charlton`s second highest goal scorer behind midfielder, Johnnie Jackson! Don`t get excited though he only has two goals compared to Jackson`s four! Do Charlton’s strikers have a problem scoring goals? It would appear so!
Team & Tactics:
If Ben Mee is fit, he would be the natural choice for the left back spot but if still sidelined you could almost flip a coin for who should replace him. Danny Lafferty played in that position against Ipswich with Joseph Mills perhaps surprisingly on the bench. Lafferty impressed in the first half but faded in the second and he is also on International duty this Wednesday for Northern Ireland. If he plays, that could go against him with another game just three days later.
The other question for Dyche will be how to replace Wallace who is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow last Saturday. Both Stanislas and Stewart could be eyeing a return to the starting eleven but could we accommodate both of them them? Will we have a five man midfield with one up front or play 4-4-2? Austin continues to look isolated up front so should he be partnered by Paterson, Vokes or Ings? Maybe Vokes deserves a start after coming on from the bench and scoring his first goal for the Clarets as a permanent player last Saturday. So what will the team line-up be? Quite a few options for Dyche to ponder, but if we assume Mee is still injured this would be my preferred eighteen :
Grant, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mills, Stock, McCann, Marney, Stanislas, Paterson, Austin
Subs: Jensen, Lafferty, Edgar, Bartley, Stewart, Ings, Vokes
The last time Wallace failed to make the starting eleven we played 4-1-4-1 against Cardiff and the starting line-up that day was exactly as above. Perhaps a bad omen since we lost that game 4-0 but maybe at home under a new manager we can make it work.
Ref Watch:
West Yorkshire referee, Robert Madley gets this one! He seems quite lenient with his card showing and in 35 games last season only 4 players saw red plus only 71 yellows were handed out. This season, it looks like a similar story with 2 reds and 31 yellows from 12 games so far. His last game in charge involving the Clarets was last season back in January when we defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 at the Riverside.
Match Prediction:
If we play like we did against both Wolves and Leeds in our last two home games we should be assured victory against a side hardly setting the world alight in the Championship. We need to be careful though in light of their recently impressive away form with no defeat now in five games on the road. 3-1 Clarets!!
Next Match:
It`s a trip to Humberside next for the Clarets! Burnley play Hull City on Saturday 24th November (Kick-Off: 3 pm) in the KC Stadium, a ground which has been good to the Clarets in recent seasons. Hull though are currently 4th in the table at the time of writing so this will be no easy task.
