The Clarets start their Carling Cup campaign in a first round game on Tuesday night with League 2, Burton Albion the visitors to Turf Moor.
The Pre-amble
It was only last January that Burnley played Burton Albion for the first time in their history beating them 3-1 in an FA Cup 4th round tie at Turf Moor. Fate has now pitched these two clubs together again and once more at Turf Moor but this time in the first round of this season`s Carling Cup competition. Burnley will be hoping to avoid any banana skins on Tuesday night after a disappointing 2-2 home draw against Watford last Saturday on the opening day of the new Championship season. Brewers manager, Paul Peschisolido on the other hand will of course again be hoping for a cup upset but anything less than a comprehensive victory against the League 2 side would be seen by many Clarets fans as a bad omen. A victory would certainly lift spirits ahead of our first away league game of the season against Palace this Saturday.
Burnley Team News:
Martin Paterson is sidelined again with another thigh injury and the results of a scan are urgently awaited. He would not have been available in any case since he was going to be on International duty for Northern Ireland before the injury setback.
Two other players will be on International duty and will miss Tuesday night`s action. New signing, Keith Treacy is in the Republic of Ireland squad whilst Alex MacDonald is on Scotland Under 21 duty.
Player to watch: Charlie Austin
Austin finally got his first goal for the Clarets against Watford on Saturday albeit a rather fluky one after a thumping shot from Treacy hit him in the face to ricochet into the net. They all count though and Austin claimed it. He would do his self-confidence a power of good though if he could net one or two goals against Burton on Tuesday night. We may have to rely on him more and more if Pato is sidelined again for any length of time and we fail to bring in any new strikers before the summer transfer window closes at the end of this month.
Burton Albion Team News:
Burton Albion will be without Tom Parkes. He is suspended after being sent-off against Torquay on Saturday for a second bookable offence.
Midfielder Jacques Maghoma is also still banned following the red card he picked up at the end of last season
Player to watch: Justin Richards
Richards signed a two year contract with Burton Albion, after moving from Port Vale on a free transfer only last July. The 30 year old striker got off to a flying start in Burton`s opening League 2 game away to Torquay last Saturday scoring two goals on his league debut. His brace though was not enough to seal victory and in the end Burton had to be content with a 2-2 draw.
Team & Tactics
We can have seven subs in this competition after reverting back to five in the Football League so we can expect some of the Development Squad to be on show although Alex MacDonald will not be available since he is on International duty for the Scot U21s. Martin Paterson too would have been on duty for Northern Ireland but he is suffering from an injury problem after coming off at half-time in our opener against Watford. He is currently undergoing a scan on his thigh again with the club praying this is not a recurrence of the persistent thigh injury that kept him sidelined for most of last season. With both Pato and Alex MacDonald unavailable, our strike options could be limited but it looks likely that both Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez could now start this game up front.
New boy, Keith Treacy will also be absent since he is on international duty for the Republic of Ireland. They have a friendly game against Croatia on Wednesday10th August in Dublin.
I think we can expect Howe to wring the changes therefore on Tuesday night and give the opportunity for some of his fringe players to start
Howe will have a number of options so it is difficult to predict the eighteen with any certainty but the line up could look something like this:
Jensen, Trippier, Duff, Edgar, Easton, Elliott, McCann, Bartley, Wallace, Austin, Rodriguez
Subs: Grant, Amougou, Mee, Fox, Marney, Harvey, Fletcher,
Match Prediction:
We simply have to avoid any embarrassing defeat in this one against League 2 opposition. Despite some of our players being injured or on International duty we should still have enough depth in the squad to despatch Burton Albion. A convincing win would be a boost to the team`s confidence. 4-1 to the Clarets sounds about right
Next Match
Burnley return to league duty and travel to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace on Saturday 13th August; their first away game of the new season (Kick-Off: 3pm)
