After a tough away game at Old Trafford, Sunderland will travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley. The Black Cats have picked up their form in the last 45 days and the Mackems will hope that they beat Burnley to have a chance of pulling away from the relegation spots prior to 2017.
Sunderland will temporarily be in the safe spots if they manage a win as Palace play Arsenal later. That’s going to be a tough game for the Eagles, so the Sunderland should target a win to help themselves. The game won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination as the Clarets have done well against the lower half teams. Sean Dyche will be under a considerable amount of pressure as they have only managed six points out of a possible 21 in the last seven games.
Sunderland manager David Moyes was disappointed after the defeat to Manchester United and understandably so as the team had very high levels of self-sabotage at Old Trafford. The goals that they conceded were pretty cheap and they should have pushed Manchester United more in the game. They can ill-afford to make such mistakes against Burnley and here’s how Moyes could set up his team.
Defence
Jordan Pickford’s injury will be a massive blow to the Black Cats. The custodian has had a brilliant season and is already being touted for bigger things in the future. In his absence, Vito Mannone is likely to guard the goal. The defenders’ distribution has been under intense scrutiny and they need to pick up their game. Lamine Kone and Papy Djilobodji are likely to start in the heart if the defence while Patrick van Aanholt and Billy Jones could play as the full-backs.
Midfield
Jason Denayer had a poor game against Manchester United and hardly did a thing right. His misplaced pass created the third goal for Manchester United and he failed to track back in the first goal as well. However, considering the lack of resources, he is likely to keep his place in the midfield.
Seb Larsson and Didier Ndong are likely to complete the three-man midfield. The midfield battles will be key when they take on Burnley and chances are likely to come at a premium for both sides.
Attack
Fabio Borini is likely to start again, keeping Wahbi Khazri out of the side. He’ll play behind the duo of Jermain Defoe and Victor Anichebe. The two were seen drifting out to the wide positions at times against Manchester United and Borini played as a centre-forward. The same is likely to continue again. Van Aanholt and Jones will offer the width on the flanks when the team attack.
