On Saturday, 4th May, as part of the 36th round of the Premier League, Burnley will host Newcastle on home ground. The Magpies are tantalisingly close to the European zone, trailing a single point behind Manchester United, while the hosts are fighting for survival and simply cannot afford to stumble.
Having returned to the elite division last summer, Burnley has spent the entire season in the relegation zone but still has chances to retain its Premier League standing. Currently, Vincent Kompany's team holds 19th place in the league table, two points adrift of the 17th placed Nottingham Forest. In recent weeks, the Claret have improved their results, suffering just one loss in their last eight rounds, with two wins and five draws. Following the crucial 4-1 victory over bottom-ranked Sheffield United, the hosts had a draw with Manchester United (1-1) last weekend. Anthony did pull Manchester United ahead, but substitute Zeki Amduni converted a penalty in the 87th minute. This season, no Premier League side has mustered fewer home points than Burnley (10, even with Sheffield United), but they have managed to secure seven since the start of the year.
As has been the case in recent weeks, the coaching staff will have to do without defenders Al-Dahil and Bayer, as well as wingers Coleosho, Ramsey, and Redmond, who have not recovered from fitness issues. The Swiss striker Amduni (5 goals) has not lived up to expectations this season and will likely leave the club, but he converted a penalty at Old Trafford last weekend and is surely a shoo-in this time around; he'll be assisted by Foster (5 goals and 3 assists) and Fofana (4 goals). The defensive quartet of Lorenzo Assuncao, Dara O'Shea, Max Esteve, and Vitinho will remain unchanged from the last round, with Arijanet Muric taking the goalkeeper position.
Newcastle still harbours hopes for a spot in European competitions: the Magpies currently hold the 7th position in the Premier League standings trailing a single point behind Manchester United. The Magpies found form in April, winning 4 of their last 6 matches, drawing once and losing once. Following their surprising loss to Crystal Palace (2:0), Eddie Howe's squad demolished bottom-dwelling Sheffield United (5:1) last weekend: Alexander Isak scored in both halves, taking his goal tally for the season to 23 in all competitions; Bruno Gimaraes and Callum Wilson also found the back of the net. Newcastle racked up 53 points in 34 rounds, but only 14 of them were garnered on the road. Furthermore, the Magpies hold the 15th position in the traveling league table this season, having lost 10 of their last 16 away encounters, including eight defeats in their last eleven outings.
Newcastle continues to grapple with serious staffing issues, with unsuitability for the weekend's match include: first-choice keeper Pope, defenders Botman and Trippier, midfielders Willock, Joelinton, and Almiron (3 goals), promising midfielder Miley (17), and centre-halves Lascelles and Targett. Moreover, midfielder Tonali is suspended. Despite this, there is outstanding attacking potential at the coaching staff's disposal in the form of Gordon (10 goals and 9 assists), Isak (19 goals), and Murphy (2 goals and 4 assists). Also, Wilson (8 goals) and Barnes (4 goals and 3 assists) had impressive performances last round. Emil Krafth will need to fill in for central defender Dan Burn if the injured Sheffield player Sher fails to recover in time.
The Magpies have won their last two visits to Turf Moor and have prevailed in each of their last five head-to-head league encounters with Burnley.
Given Burnley's recent home record and Newcastle's struggles on the road, a fierce battle will ensue this weekend. However, Newcastle rightfully stands as the favourite for a victory: the visitors need to top Manchester United in the race for European qualification. Eddie Howe's men have beaten the Clarets in the last five competitive head-to-head clashes, and such should be the case again this Saturday.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Liverpool | 23 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 56:21 | 56 | |
2 | Arsenal | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 49:22 | 50 | |
3 | Nottingham | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 40:27 | 47 | |
4 | Chelsea | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 47:31 | 43 | |
5 | Manchester City | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 48:35 | 41 | |
6 | Newcastle | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 42:29 | 41 | |
7 | Bournemouth | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 41:28 | 40 | |
8 | Aston Villa | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | -3 | 34:37 | 37 | |
9 | Fulham | 24 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 36:32 | 36 | |
10 | Brighton | 24 | 8 | 10 | 6 | -3 | 35:38 | 34 | |
11 | Brentford | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 42:42 | 31 | |
12 | Crystal Palace | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | -2 | 28:30 | 30 | |
13 | Manchester Utd | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 28:34 | 29 | |
14 | Tottenham | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 48:37 | 27 | |
15 | West Ham | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | -17 | 29:46 | 27 | |
16 | Everton | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | -5 | 23:28 | 26 | |
17 | Wolves | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | -18 | 34:52 | 19 | |
18 | Leicester | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -28 | 25:53 | 17 | |
19 | Ipswich | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | -27 | 22:49 | 16 | |
20 | Southampton | 24 | 2 | 3 | 19 | -36 | 18:54 | 9 | |
1 | Arsenal | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 27:10 | 28 | |
2 | Liverpool | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24:9 | 26 | |
3 | Nottingham | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 22:10 | 24 | |
4 | Manchester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 24:15 | 23 | |
5 | Aston Villa | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20:14 | 23 | |
6 | Brentford | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 29:25 | 23 | |
7 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 22:15 | 22 | |
8 | Bournemouth | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17:9 | 21 | |
9 | Newcastle | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 20:14 | 20 | |
10 | Fulham | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 18:18 | 17 | |
11 | Manchester Utd | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 17:22 | 16 | |
12 | Everton | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 16:13 | 16 | |
13 | Brighton | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 14:14 | 15 | |
14 | Tottenham | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 27:23 | 14 | |
15 | West Ham | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 16:26 | 14 | |
16 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 11:19 | 11 | |
17 | Wolves | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 16:24 | 10 | |
18 | Leicester | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 11:21 | 9 | |
19 | Ipswich | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 9:26 | 7 | |
20 | Southampton | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 8:30 | 4 | |
1 | Liverpool | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 32:12 | 30 | |
2 | Nottingham | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 18:17 | 23 | |
3 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 22:12 | 22 | |
4 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 25:16 | 21 | |
5 | Newcastle | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22:15 | 21 | |
6 | Bournemouth | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 24:19 | 19 | |
7 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 18:14 | 19 | |
8 | Brighton | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 21:24 | 19 | |
9 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 17:11 | 19 | |
10 | Manchester City | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 24:20 | 18 | |
11 | Aston Villa | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 14:23 | 14 | |
12 | Manchester Utd | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 11:12 | 13 | |
13 | Tottenham | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 21:14 | 13 | |
14 | West Ham | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 13:20 | 13 | |
15 | Everton | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 7:15 | 10 | |
16 | Wolves | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 18:28 | 9 | |
17 | Ipswich | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 13:23 | 9 | |
18 | Brentford | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 13:17 | 8 | |
19 | Leicester | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 14:32 | 8 | |
20 | Southampton | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 10:24 | 5 |
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