Burnley will finally be promoted to the Premier League on Easter Monday if they beat Wigan at Turf Moor.
The Pre-amble:
Will this purgatory never end? We have been so close to tasting automatic promotion so many times without actually achieving it, it`s now almost becoming a joke! As it stands at the moment, Burnley in second spot remain eight points clear of third-placed Derby after both teams on Good Friday notched up away wins against struggling, relegation threatened clubs. Nobody else can catch the Clarets now so it`s a two-horse race for that runners-up spot assuming league leaders Leicester seven points clear don`t mess up. The Clarets defeated Blackpool 1-0 at Bloomfield Road on Good Friday only for the promotion party to be spoilt by Derby who beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0 in the later game at the Keepmoat. There are now three matches and nine points still up for grabs so we are still not quite there! In effect we need two points from the remaining three games to keep Derby at bay and insure we will be playing top flight football next season! It would be much better though if we can win on Easter Monday and relax for the last two games both against play-offs chasing clubs. Our last home game follows this Saturday against Ipswich (currently 8th one point off the play-offs) and we finish the season a week later away to Reading (currently in 7th spot also one point behind). These are not games you would like to go into still needing points especially with Derby`s relatively easy run in. They play struggling Barnsley at home on Easter Monday and follow that up with another home game the following Saturday against Watford before finishing the season away to Leeds. It is quite clear what we need to do and that is beat Wigan Athletic at Turf Moor on Easter Monday and send the town into raptures celebrating automatic promotion!
The problem for the Clarets is that Wigan are currently in pretty good form and are now looking like a strong play-offs contender. A Latics win on Easter Monday could confirm a play-offs place for them. They are currently 5th with 70 points from their 42 games and also have a game in hand over their rivals for that Wembley Play-Offs final! Uwe Rosler`s men have only lost one of their last five league games notching up two wins and two draws. They did have the disappointment of losing to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on penalties recently but followed that up with a thumping 3-0 home win against fellow play-offs hopefuls Reading on Good Friday. Burnley need to be on their guard and find something special but let`s do this and ease the nerves. Clarets fans have had to endure too much bum squeaking in recent times and it is now time to put this to bed and think about playing the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal next season.
Burnley Team News:
There is no news of any injuries following our Good Friday victory over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road so it looks like Sean Dyche will once again have virtually a full squad to choose from. Sam Vokes, out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury is our only senior player sidelined at the moment.
Player to watch: David Jones
Jones could be influential on Easter Monday in this crucial game against his former club. The midfielder could be the linchpin in our hoped for victory against Wigan. He should be up for it too hoping to prove a point after being released in the Summer by our opponents before being signed by the Clarets on a free transfer.
Wigan Athletic Team News:
Clarets fans hoping to get a glimpse of former Burnley midfielder, Chris McCann will be disappointed. McCann suffered a multiple fracture of the right knee cap following a collision with Manchester City’s Micah Richards during the FA Cup Quarter Final back in March and looks likely to miss the rest of the season. This was bad news for Wigan who only just the previous month had lost another midfielder, Ben Watson for the rest of the season after the player suffered a double leg fracture in the game against Barnsley.
Defender Ivan Ramis is also a doubt.
Player to watch: Jordi Gómez
Gómez is a recognised central midfielder but he seems to have found his goal-scoring boots this season for Wigan. He is currently their second highest goal scorer on 11 goals just one behind Nick Powell. The 28 year old Spaniard came through Barcelona`s C and B team before making a name for himself with Espanyol. He first came to our attention when he signed for Swansea on a season-long loan in June 2008 scoring 12 goals in 44 appearances for the Swans. Roberto Martinez then signed him again after becoming manager of Wigan. After the Swansea loan and return to Spain he was immediately sold to Wigan Athletic then in the Premier League on a three-year contract in June 2009, with the transfer fee estimated to be in the region of £1.7 million.
Team & Tactics:
Burnley could name an unchanged eighteen for the third game running with only Sam Vokes sidelined. If that is the case then we will line up as follows:
Heaton, Tripper, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Kightly, Marney, Jones, Arfield, Barnes, Ings
Subs: Cisak, Long, Baird, Edgar, Treacy, Wallace, Stanislas
Ref Watch:
Hampshire referee Keith Stroud is the man in charge for this clash. The Bournemouth-based referee was once on the elite list of Premier League referees but lost his place after just two seasons. He has featured in 35 games this season flashing read seven times (1-in-5 games!) and also handing out 153 yellow cards. His last match involving the Clarets was our 3-1 home win over Millwall back in February this year. Just three yellow cards were shown that day.
Match Prediction:
It has been frustrating time recently with virtually every game promising to achieve automatic promotion for the Clarets if only Derby would drop points! The loss to Middlesbrough in our last home game scuppered that possibility and even though we then beat Blackpool away 1-0 on Good Friday, the Rams also won at the Keepmoat to keep up the pressure. This will be a tough game against one of the in-form play-offs chasing sides. It is time to show our class, hold our nerve and do the business. Burnley to shade it 2-1 and set the town alight!!
Next Match:
Our last home game is up next and this will be yet another Sky Sports live televised game this time against Ipswich on Saturday 26th April. The game will kick-off early at 12:15pm. The season comes to an end on Saturday 3rd May when the Clarets visit Reading for the final game of the season. This also kicks-off at 12:15pm. Hopefully by then we will have already achieved automatic promotion!
