Burnley will play hosts to Istanbul Basaksehir at the Turf Moor on Thursday night. The Clarets will be looking to earn a favourable result which will take them one step closer to securing a place in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. The Lancashire outfit could only manage to get a draw away at Turkey which means that they need to beat Abdullah Avcı’s team to make it through to the next round.
Dyche’s men have earned two goalless draws in a row in their last two matches so we can expect another narrow affair in midweek. The Clarets will likely line up in a 4-4-2 formation with Chris Wood and new signing, Matej Vydra spearheading their attack.
Burnley have no fresh injury concerns to deal with as only Nick Pope and Steven Defour can be ruled out of action for this European encounter.
4-4-2 Burnley Predicted Lineup To Face Istanbul Basaksehir
Defence
Joe Hart will start in goal for the Clarets and might be guarded by the central defence pairing of Ben Mee and Ben Gibson. While Stephen Ward plays at left-back, Matthew Lowton should operate on the right side of the backline.
Burnley managed to keep a clean sheet in the first leg against their Turkish opponents and also repeated the feat on Sunday when they held Southampton to a goalless draw. Now, the Clarets boss Sean Dyche would be hoping that his back four can keep their performance levels up when they take on the Istanbul side later this week.
Midfield
Ashley Westwood and Jack Cork will pair up as the holding midfielders at the middle of the pitch. The performance of the duo would be integral for the Lancashire club to get a positive result on Thursday night.
Aaron Lennon might start on the right flank and will hope to put in a tireless shift against a resolute Istanbul side. Johann Berg Gudmundsson will look to deliver some good crosses with his stronger left foot and create some chances for his teammates while operating on the left flank.
Attack
Chris Wood and Matej Vydra could lead the lines for the home side up top. The Czech forward had been the top-scorer of the EFL Championship last season and comes in with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Vydra, the Clarets new boy, arrived from Derby County earlier this month and would be expected to get his name on the scoresheet on Thursday.
