After stopping the thunderous attack of Manchester United, Burnley will be up against Crystal Palace. They would look for something much more than a draw this time but will be wary of Palace’s attack. Here are the three areas Burnley will have to watch out for.
Christian Benteke vs Michel Keane
Although Crystal Palace’s star signing failed to score against his former club Liverpool in the previous game, he still remains one of the most dangerous players in Palace attack. The Belgian has scored 3 goals in 8 appearances for Crystal Palace and will look to add more to his tally against Burnley.
Benteke’s height and skill with the ball will be a constant threat for the Burnley defence and Palace will look to feed the ball to their towering striker at every opportunity.
Burnley’s central defender Michael Keane will be up against the Belgian. Although Burnley haven’t played like a team in their dismal Premier League campaign this year, Keane has been decent in that position. He even bagged a goal against Watford a few weeks back.
He will be well aware of the Belgian’s threat and will try to keep him quiet in the weekend’s clash.
James McArthur vs Dean Marney
James McArthur has been absolutely superb for Palace this season. The attacking midfielder has taken the onus on himself when Palace’s strikers failed to fire in the last game.
Against Liverpool, the Scottish midfielder got into some good positions with his late runs and brought his side back into the game not once but twice.
McArthur has already scored 4 goals for Palace this season with 3 assists and could be one of the major threats in unlocking Burnley’s defence.
Dean Marney has evolved as a guardian for the Burnley midfield now. Having joined six years back in 2010, the midfielder knows the English way of playing football quite well and is the perfect number 8 for Burnley.
He intercepts key passes, recovers the ball and also plays key passes in the attacking third and his experience makes him a prized asset. It will be a brilliant battle of wits when these two meet.
Sam Vokes vs Scott Dann
Although Burnley haven’t been the sharpest of attacking sides this season, Sam Vokes has still tried to pose a threat to opposition defence with his tenacity. He could not do much against Manchester United, who hardly gave breathing space for Burnley to attack, but Vokes had scored back to back goals in games leading up to the clash at Old Trafford.
He opened his account this season with a goal against Liverpool which stunned many and is capable of doing the same against Palace.
Palace’s captain has a lot to prove this season. A seasoned defender who has come up through the ranks of Championship and Premier League football, he is well adept to the hard tackling and no nonsense defending at the back.
He also has a decent ability to provide accurate long passes up front. He will be tasked to stop Sam Vokes and will look to avoid mistakes that were made against Liverpool.
