Burnley take a break from their Premier League campaign this Tuesday night with a Capital One Cup Game against Sheffield Wednesday at Turf Moor.
The Pre-amble:
The Clarets in terms of their Premier League campaign have yet to pick up any points after a 3-1 home defeat to high-flyers, Chelsea in their opener and then a 1-0 defeat away to Swansea in their last game on Saturday. Points might be hard to come by at the moment but at least the performances have been encouraging with lots of positive signs. Burnley now take a break from their top flight battles and concentrate on the Capital One Cup. Championship club, Sheffield Wednesday are the visitors to Turf Moor on Tuesday night in a second round clash.
It would do Burnley a power of good to pick up a convincing win against the Owls and it would certainly boost confidence ahead of their home league game against Manchester United on Saturday.
The Owls though will be hoping to put a spanner in the works and spoil the party. They have started pretty well in the Championship and after four games have picked up eight points. Wednesday remain undefeated in 6th place with two home draws and two away wins. In the first round of the Capital One Cup they also easily despatched Notts County 3-0 at home. The Owls of course are now managed by a familiar face, Stuart Gray and he will be keen to get one over his former club having been second-in-command under Brian Laws and then enjoying a spell as caretaker manager after Laws departed.
Burnley Team News:
Sam Vokes is currently our only player in the squad to be sidelined. He continues his recovery from anterior cruciate ligament damage. Sean Dyche though looks set to make some changes tonight and could give new boys, Matt Gilks, Steven Reid and Stephen Ward their full debuts.
Player to watch: Stephen Ward
Clarets fans will be keen to take their first look at our latest recruit in action and see what he might have to offer. He can play in a number of positions but looks likely to replace Ben Mee at left back.
Sheffield Wednesday Team News:
Defender Sam Hutchinson faces a late fitness test. He missed the weekend win over Middlesbrough with a back injury. Defender Lewis Buxton and striker Caolan Lavery (both knee) though remain sidelined.
Striker Gary Madine could also be recalled after scoring in the last round and Kieran Lee could also be back in contention providing he has fully recovered after struggling with a groin injury.
Player to watch: Atdhe Nuhiu
Nuhiu has already scored three goals so far this season for the Owls and he is currently their leading goal scorer. The 25 year old Austrian striker signed a three-year contract for Sheffield Wednesday in July 2013 after arriving on a free transfer from Rapid Wien. He has since scored 10 times in 42 appearances for the Owls.
Team & Tactics:
Sean Dyche looks certain to shuffle the pack against the Owls and give some of his other squad players the chance to feature. It is possible he could name Matt Gilks, Steven Reid and Stephen Ward in the starting eleven and give them their full debuts.
Dyche made his intentions pretty clear this week saying:
‘There’s a different feel to the cup because of the enormity of the Premier League.
‘We have always respected all of the cups and we will do that again, but it’s also important that we use players.
‘We have a deeper squad that last season and we need to make sure that players are fit because everyone can see the demands that are on the players here, so we will look at the idea of change.
‘That’s not necessarily what we are going to do, but players do need games and there is a bigger picture to our season and that’s here for all to see.’
It is certainly going to be tricky to name an eighteen for this one with so many options but I think the trick could be to have some of our top players on the bench ready to come on should the Owls get the upper hand. . Ben Mee seems to have struggled in recent games and looks a likely candidate to be rested. Danny Ings too has looked a little confused and been somewhat ineffective to date. He badly needs a goal to boost confidence but he might have to come on from the bench in this match to stand a chance of getting on the score sheet.
I would be comfortable with the following starting line-up in 4-4-2 formation whilst having a strong bench as indicated:
Gilks, Reid, Long, Shackell, Ward, Taylor, Marney, Jones, Arfield, Barnes, Sordell
Subs: Heaton, Duff, Trippier, Kightly, Wallace, Ings, Jutkiewicz
Ref Watch:
Geoff Eltringham is the man in charge. The South Durham referee has already sent three players off in his five games so far this season whilst another 13 have picked up yellow cards. Last season, he seemed somewhat calmer with only six players seeing red in his 29 games and another 90 suffering a yellow card. You have to go back to November 2012 for the last time this ref was in charge of a game involving the Clarets. That match was our home game against Leeds United and it finished in a 1-0 Burnley win with just two players cautioned that day.
Match Prediction:
We badly need a win just to boost confidence even if this is against Championship opposition and we now ply our trade in the top flight. A defeat is unthinkable and could add significantly to our woes. If we play like we did against Chelsea and indeed Swansea, especially in the second-half, then we should be too strong for the Owls. 2-0 Clarets and on to Round 3.
Next Match:
Premier League life continues on Saturday 30th August with the little matter of Manchester United visiting Turf Moor. This is an early kick-off game at 12:45pm due to the match being covered live by BT Sport.
