Swansea are in town this Saturday and hopefully they will be leaving Turf Moor without any points!
The Pre-amble:
Burnley hoping to capitalise on their impressive point away to league leaders Chelsea last Saturday face Swansea at Turf Moor this Saturday. The Clarets unexpected point away to Chelsea lifted then up one place from second-from-bottom and they remain four points clear of bottom club, Leicester City. The Clarets are now sandwiched between second-from-bottom Aston Villa and QPR in 17th with all three clubs on 22 points from 26 games only separated by goal difference. It`s getting tight down there and three points in our home games are now looking vital if we are to stand any chance of survival. The main problem for the Clarets is that we are in the middle of a run of eight games against clubs in the top ten although at least our performances against both Manchester United and Chelsea on the road in the first two of this sequnechave been encouraging despite only picking up one point! But what a point it was against the Blues; surely that will have boosted confidence ahead of the Swansea game.
On paper Swansea at home is the easiest of these eight games since Garry Monk`s men are currently in 9th spot whereas all the remaining seven involve clubs in the top seven with Liverpool (A), Manchester City (H), Southampton (A), Spurs (H) and Arsenal (H) to follow! Simples! Shish! The Swansea game might be the easiest but it certainly won`t be easy! Swansea have won two of their last five away league matches and drawn another. The Swans have also lost only one of 13 matches against clubs currently in the bottom half of the table winning six and drawing six. They could though have been rocked following the loss of star striker Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in the January window. In the six games since he left Swansea have only found the back of the net five times so let`s hope it stays that number after Saturday`s game.
Burnley Team News:
Both Kevin Long and Dean Marney are out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament injuries. Matty Taylor (Achilles surgery) is still making progress and is near to a return but looks set to remain sidelined for the Swans clash.
Player to watch: Ashley Barnes
Barnes was at the centre of controversy last week after being involved in a fracas with Nemanja Matic in the Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge. Matic was sent off after reacting angrily to being struck on the shin following a robust tackle from the former Brighton striker. Barnes was not punished during the match and also faces no subsequent FA action despite a whinging Jose Mourinho describing the tackle as ‘criminal` Even Matic`s automatic three match ban has since been reduced to two suggesting the whole incident was somewhat unclear. The question is how will all this bad publicity have affected our striker`s game? Let`s hope he replies to that question by scoring a goal or two against Swansea!
Swansea City Team News:
Swansea have no new fresh injuries to worry about so Garry Monk’s main dilemma could be what tactics and formation to adopt against the Clarets. He clearly prefers to line-up 4-3-3 but played a midfield diamond in last week`s 2-1 home victory over Manchester United. Jefferson Montero is the most likely player to be recalled if he reverts back to 4-3-3.
Player to watch: Jack Cork
Swansea completed the signing of Southampton and former on loan Clarets midfielder Jack Cork in the January window for a fee believed to be in the region of £3million. The 25 year old former England under-21 international signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at the Liberty Stadium. Jack Cork was popular with Clarets fans during his two loan spells at Turf Moor with many hoping the club could somehow sign him on a permanent deal. His first spell on loan from then parent club Chelsea started in February 2010 and he signed until the end of that season. Cork though was unable to prevent Burnley being relegated back to the Championship but under Brian Laws he signed a new loan deal with the Clarets in August 2010 for a full season. All told he played 51 games for Burnley also scoring 4 goals In July 2011, Cork signed for Southampton after they agreed an undisclosed fee with Chelsea thought to be in the region of £750,000. It will be interesting to see what progress he has made since playing for the Clarets.
Team & Tactics:
Sean Dyche looks set to keep faith in the team that picked up such a well-earned and unexpected point away to league leaders, Chelsea last Saturday. If he does we will line-up as follows:
Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Keane, Mee, Kightly, Arfield, Jones, Boyd, Ings, Barnes
Subs: Gilks, Reid, Duff, Ward, Wallace, Jutkiewicz, Vokes
Ref Watch:
Jon Moss is in charge of this clash. This will be the West Yorkshire referee`s third match involving the Clarets this season. He has also refereed our away games this season against West Brom and QPR and we lost both of those so let`s hope for a better result under this referee on home soil. This will be his first game at Turf Moor since we played Bolton on the opening day of the 2012/13 season but at least that one was a 2-0 win for the Clarets. In his 24 games so far this season Moss has already remarkably dismissed seven players. His yellow card count is up to 81 and includes three in each of the West Brom and QPR games.
Match Prediction:
Well this is actually on paper our easiest game in this horrendous eight match sequence against sides in the top ten and I would hope and think the unexpected and superb point at Stamford Bridge last Saturday will have motivated the team even more. I will go with a 2-0 victory and three vital points
Next Match:
It`s only Liverpool away next and we play them in midweek at Anfield on Wednesday 4th March (Kick-Off: 8pm)
