Burnley’s poor away form continued last week as an underwhelming Liverpool escaped with three points despite being second best to the Clarets in most departments. And Sean Dyche’s misfortune away from home is bound to give him nightmares as they visit yet again next week, this time to the Stadium of Light to play the relegation-battling Sunderland.
Favourable results around them have kept the Clarets in a pretty good position in the Premier League table as both Watford and West Ham United, who are below and above them respectively, dropped points simultaneously, and the Clarets have a clear-cut chance of finishing in the top half of the table.
Like Arsenal’s dreaded November, Burnley have a thing for the month of March. They have won only one game in March in their Premier League history. They have played 10 so far and lost eight of them; pretty scary. It gets worse when considered with their away record, which is the worst in the league this season.
Strongest Burnley XI vs Sunderland (4-4-2)
Defence
Tom Heaton will take his position under the bar. Their skipper has been their saviour many times earlier this season and Dyche would expect the 30-year-old to keep his team in the game until the last minute.
The back line is pretty much expected to be the same as it was against Liverpool. Dyche has hardly been forced to change his defence this season, which has been a big factor in their surprising success. Irishman Stephen Ward is expected to take his place on the left-flank position with Mathew Lowton on the other flank.
The central defensive pairing should be the usual with Ben Mee and Michael Keane lining up. Mee and Keane’s partnership at the back has been praised by many and Dyche would expect his star defenders to get the job done this time.
Midfield
The left-flank should be taken by Scott Arfield. The Canadian international was pretty decent against Liverpool last game and would expect his hard work to reap some fruit this time. The right flank is likely to be taken by Robbie Brady. Burnley’s star signing started from the bench to replace George Boyd in the final quarter of last game. The central midfield should be occupied by Jeff Hendrick and Joey Barton.
Attack
The two forwards up front should be Andre Gray and Ashley Barnes. Gray is the only Burnley player to score a hattrick in their history, which he scored in the reverse fixture back in December.
