Burnley (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & score prediction

Olly Hawkins

With little over five minutes on the watch last weekend, we were 2-1 down and facing the very real prospect of dropping into the relegation zone if Fulham beat one of Aston Villa or Wolves – two teams Scott Parker’s side had to play before our trip to Burnley this Sunday.

A week later and we’ve not only benefited from a deserved equaliser against Spurs, but also seen Fulham lose not once but twice, with last weekend’s late collapse at Aston Villa followed by a 92nd minute defeat to Wolves on Friday night.

This creates an opportunity we must grasp with both hands at Turf Moor, as we go into the game knowing a win would send us SIX points clear of the drop zone with a game in hand.

Now is the time to learn from previous failings. We recently headed into ‘six-pointers’ at West Brom and Brighton fully aware of what a win would mean, yet failed miserably in both.

The question is, does Bruce stick with the side and formation that looked much improved in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Spurs or bring fit-again duo Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson back into the starting 11?

A no-brainer for me, but a decision he must get right in a game that offers us a huge chance to take a mammoth step towards survival.

Team news

  • Callum Wilson – Passed fit for Burnley after coming through training. The question is, will he be named in the starting 11 or on the bench?
  • Jamaal Lascelles – Ruled out of the game with a suspected stress fracture in his foot. Some fears he may not play again this season.
  • Federico Fernandez – Appears to be back just when we need him, with Bruce confirming he’s trained all week. Could start for the first time since January.
  • Ryan Fraser – Ruled out with a groin problem that’s got no better since he returned from the international break with Scotland.
  • Andy Carroll – Deemed touch and go for this after training properly for the first time in two and a half weeks on Friday.
  • Isaac Hayden – Ruled out for the season with a knee injury; however it’s good to hear he will NOT require surgery.
  • Fabian Schar – Remains out with a knee injury as he continues his recovery from surgery.

For the hosts, full-backs Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley have been passed fit, but Ashley Barnes, Kevin Long and Robbie Brady remain unavailable.

Predicted lineup

(3-4-1-2): Dubravka – Fernandez, Clark, Dummett – Murphy, S Longstaff, Shelvey, Ritchie – Almiron – Wilson, Joelinton.

Clark IN, Lascelles OUT? – An easy swap no the skipper is out. Clark was poor in his last start at Brighton but doesn’t usually let us down, meaning he is almost certain to come back into the side here.

Fernandez IN, Krafth OUT? – With Lascelles ruled out we need height, experience and leadership, something Fernandez can offer. As for Krafth, you’d like to think we’d take him out of the firing line, with the Swede not the answer at centre-back whatsoever – not to mention against a big Burnley side who like to throw balls into the box.

Wilson IN, Gayle OUT? – This would involve Bruce changing a winning side and throwing Wilson straight into the side, however it seems the latter is ready to return after training all week. I see Joelinton keeping his place after doing so well in that 2-2 draw with Spurs – a call that could keep Saint-Maximin on the bench – but I think Bruce will want his top scorer back in for this one. After all, he takes that big chance Gayle may miss; and that could end up being the difference in a tight game like this.

Elsewhere, it’ll be interesting to see if Joe Willock can force his way back into the starting XI. The Arsenal loanee was dropped last Sunday but ended up scoring a late equaliser against Spurs, giving Bruce a decision to make after Sean Longstaff performed well on his return to the side.

Match prediction

You’d like to think Bruce would learn from our pathetic approach at West Brom (one of our last ‘winnable’ away games) and actually attempt to win this one, not avoid defeat, however I fear he might opt for the latter.

Saying that, it’s fair to say Burnley are a tough nut to crack at Turf Moor and a team few actually beat on their own patch, with Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea and Tottenham the only sides to do so since September.

A part of me hopes we’ll be lifted by last weekend’s improved display and boosted even further by the return of Wilson and Saint-Maximin, however it remains to be seen if both will start.

Hoping for a big win that puts us on the brink of safety, but a low-scoring draw feels more likely.

Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Newcastle

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About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

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82 thoughts on “Burnley (A) Pre-match thoughts, team news, possible line-ups & score prediction”

  1. Agree with your team Olly. I would prefer Willock for Shelvey but Jonjo will play and be Captain.

    2 nil win for us. Burnley are ****. How they are not on 12 points I have no idea.

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  2. St Max is our best player so we really should play him. I just dont see Bruce dong it. That would mean leaving out his boy Joelinton and the donkey didnt do too badly against Spurs.

    Still, 3 goals in 60 PL games. C’mon! That’s not good. And you missed a couple of good chances.

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  3. Yeah I agree. I put a team up yesterday which was the same other than I had Willock & Max in rather than Shelvey & Joe – but I think you’re probably right.
    As Eric says, Shelvey will likely be Capt in Lascelles absence and with Burnley being a big physical side, it might be worth Joe having a wrestle with the CBs first before Max comes on to run them ragged … hopefully.

    He might even start Gayle with it being Wilson’s first game back and bring him on later.

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  4. Rightly or wrongly id throw the kitchen sink at this game to go for the win.
    Fulham looked crushed after that late winner from Wolves last night.
    If we win tomorrow and go 6 points clear of them, I’m not sure Parker could lift his players for another push with so few games left.

    There are obviously still a lot of points to play for. But the Fulham players aren’t daft, they know how much effort they have put into the last 20 games for very few points return. I’m not suggesting they have given up, but I think any time they go a goal behind in any game now, I think their heads will drop.

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  5. As the season shortens we see more and more weird results. Always happens. Leeds today!
    I think Fulham are gone now but only 1-1 for us at Burnley. Bruce will be cautious first.

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  6. They were talking about Allison being the best goalie in the world a few months ago and he is making so many mistakes. Typical Red Bindippers, just going over the top. Like the Red Mancs were saying De Gea was the best in the world a couple of years ago.

    Now he has lost his place to Henderson and he is the highest paid player in the PL.

    Jota is a good player though. How did they get him? I think he cost the same as our donkey.

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  7. No excuses, need to get at Burnley tomorrow, it’s a game we have a real chance of getting something from so please no cowardly approach Steve.

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  8. Exactly right Kim. We have our own fate in our hands. We can pull away from Fulham tomorrow simply by doing what should be our aim every game – go out and win the game.

    I don’t think Burnley will be a push over by any stretch because Dyche and his players will be disciplined and come with their own game plan to win.

    But if we can play similar to how we did in the last game, I think we can beat them.

    It’s up to Bruce & the players now.

    But I’ll be like you, raging if I don’t see that want & desire from every single one of them.

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  9. If we beat Burnley we are only 1 point behind them. This is an important game so the Steves and Graeme better get on the same page.

    Brighton are home to Everton. Got no idea which Everton will turn up but Brighton’s home form is terrible except against us of course.

    Big day tomorrow lads and lasses. This will decide our season. I think it is must win, but as others have pointed out Bagpuss probably will set up as a NOT LOSE.

    How the hell Palace have 38 points I have no idea. Them and Burnley are both worse than us.

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  10. Do you know that this Redbird Co bought 10% of Liverpool for $720 million. That values them at $7.2 BILLION. Ashley is asking about $480 million (350 million pounds). So the maths is pretty easy. Liverpool are valued at exacty 15 times NUFC. That;s a bit crazy but they do have a massive worldwide fan base. I have seen it over here in Chicago. They flood the bar where I go to watch games.

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  11. I reckon England will win the Euros. We have a massive advantage because the semi-finals and final are at Wembley. They are talking 50 % capacity for fans and the Germans are pretty **** nowadays. I am not really that impressed with France either if they are relying on Lloris and Pogba.

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  12. Olly: why dont you set up a podcast or better still a youtube channel? Wraith’s seems to be doing quite well and I think he has like 35,000 subscribers in a few months although some of his contributors left because he interviewed Tommy Robinson.

    The magic number to make serious money seems to be about 100k subscribers. I follow a photography you tube channel and the guy started from scratch about 3 years ago. He details where all of his money comes from and most of it is youtube. Hardly any money from selling prints but that could be because most subjects like the Grand Canyon have been done to death.

    Wraith has some boring people on like the Geordie Dentist but his Gibbo and McDonald shows are always good.

    I think The True Geodie must be raking it in with his subscribers. I havent really watched since he went all mainstream and now acts like any other journo.

    I even listen to The Chronicle podcast now and again as it is sometimes more convenient than reading.

    I think this is where things are headed, especially since Covid when people have become used to zoom, skype and facetime.

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  13. You already have writers, all they have to do is to say to camera what they would say in print/blogs. Wraith also has a few ex-players on which actually tends to be a bit boring – how many times can you really listen to stories about the Liverpool 4-3 loss 25 years ago! You have to keep it tight as well. Wraith’s problem is he lets some guests (yes the Dentist) ramble on for an hour every week about a takeover. As soon as that starts , I turn it off.

    The other mistake he makes is that he doesnt descriminate with his fan guests. Some are just not good talkers and I dont care how knowledgable they are about NUFC nobody wants to listen to a stumbling and stuttering babboon.

    If Wraith can get 35k subscribers in a few months there has to be a market. I think the True Geordie had half a million or more.

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  14. Team was correct except Gayle for Wilson. I reckon we will see Wilson and St Max later. Along with Willock and Manquillo we have a lot of choices on the bench so I dont want to hear any moans from the cabbage about injuries. Carroll is even fit.

    I would really like Donkey to stick it to me and get a hattrick after all my p!ssing and moaning about him.

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  15. The Chronic have an article today with Newcastle “LEGEND” Darren Peacock. I really think calling him and Mick Quinn “legends” deminishes the status of true legends like Shearer or Keegan.

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  18. It is 5.30am in the US. I must be mad to get up this early to watch our shyte. Will we be able to string 2 decent performances together even though we only got a draw against Spurs. Bruce acts like it was a win, just like he has blocked out our loss to Palace when he talks about results.

    Need everybody pulling in the same direction and that includes Graeme Jones. I am still not sure if it was a good idea to bring him in as it created tension. I really think that the masterplan was to make Bruce walk but his ego is too big for that and he wants his money.

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  19. I don’t think it’s too much of a understatement to say if we win today we will stay up.

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  20. So, let’s hope donkey joe has his confidence up from that goal vs Spurs. Good options on the bench so we really need to go all out for this one.

    We will smash them 0-0. ??

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  25. Awful again!!!

    This is a horrible watch so far – stray passes, an inability to control a ball and very little movement.

    Don’t think Joe or Gayle have touched the ball yet.

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  28. Got a run of really hard games after this as well, wouldn’t mind but Burnley are a poor side.

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  32. It’s just horrible to watch man isn’t it!!.

    We are second best in every part of the pitch – Burnley want it more, they want to win every ball & we aren’t even competing for it.
    When we get it we can keep it, we can complete 3 passes without losing the ball again.

    Absolutely pathetic.

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  33. Eric Sykes:
    What’s the point of having 3 centre backs and playing Shelvey as a sweeper?

    Eric – agreed mate. He is far too deep & we are losing the midfield battle – Longstaff is non existent in there.

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  38. I’m actually speechless that isn’t a pen. They never even asked the ref to look again ffs

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  39. God I’m raging here!!.

    Gayle should have scored – he HAS to score that!!!

    But how is that not a foul???. How is that not a high foot & dangerous play??? – if Longstaff had stayed down and rolled round more, shouted and screamed one I bet they’d give it.

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  40. Have they changed the rules for dangerous play? I saw Mane sent off for Liverpool for a high boot on the goalie outside the area a few years ago.

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  41. What a fu.cking debacle… we are just **** all over the pitch.. and how was that not a penalty? The fuc.ker almost took Sean’s head off! These off side by mm is pissing me off so bad. That is not the spirit of the game. Same as Wolves last night. Should be only offside if all his body is beyond the defender.

    We will lose this. Probably 3-0 to Burnley ??? we are the team vs Brighton again. Where is Gayle?

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  42. Alan Shearer
    @alanshearer
    That should be a pen. Anywhere else on the pitch …Face with symbols over mouthFace with symbols over mouth #BURNEW

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  45. F ecking fuming over that decision man, effin joke VAR

    No way that’s Seans fault, pen all day long, Burnley should be down to 10 and us given a pen.
    As long as Jabba is taking the PL to court i suspect a lot of decisions won’t go are way. Not hard to be a conspiracy theorist when you see s hithousery like that.
    Fuming. 👿

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  46. Gilly, Gayle put the ball in the net and also had a flick that the goalie stopped which goes in 50% of the time.

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  48. Kimtoon: you wont even get an explanation from either the Ref or the VAR Ref. I would really like to know how that isnt dangerous play.

    We are probably lucky to only be 1-nil down though. Typical Bruce setting up for a draw.

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  49. And Gayles offside was a joke in all, effin finger tips.
    Back to sortin lunch anyway, hate midday kick offs.
    Fulham fans will be happy so far.

    Buck up and sort it out lads, get Callum on and put Miggy in his best position too.

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  50. I think Max will come on, but I think Wilson & Willock is most needed at the moment – we need energy in midfield & a forward who can actually score goals

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  51. Eric Sykes:
    Kimtoon: you wont even get an explanation from either the Ref or the VAR Ref. I would really like to know how that isnt dangerous play.

    We are probably lucky to only be 1-nil down though. Typical Bruce setting up for a draw.

    True mate, they can’t explain that, it’s that simple.

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  52. Sharpy17:
    I think Max will come on, but I think Wilson & Willock is most needed at the moment – we need energy in midfield & a forward who can actually score goals

    Agree

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  53. Time for Bruce and his army of coaches to earn their pay.

    I know I am totally boring about this but how many touches did donkey have in that 1st half?

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  59. We need to give THEM something to think about rather than give away corner after corner.

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  60. Does Bruce watch the same game? We have plenty on the bench and are carrying passengers. Obviously Donkey but I think Shelvey and Longstaff want to be in the same space.

    That said, apart from Dubravka it is hard to say anybody is playing well. And I include Dummett who I usually like.

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  63. I can watch anymore of this, I’m gonna end up smashing my tv here. We are so fucking ****, I couldn’t give a **** if we stay up or go down – it’s always only a matter of time coz these players aren’t good enough.

    They are too inconsistent & can’t compete simple passages of play.

    If they can’t motivate themselves to be up for this fight, I don’t know why we care anymore.

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  65. great goal. Undeserved. We got lucky on their corners. That’s their bread and butter.

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  71. Well I stuck with it as the subs were being made as I posted.

    Proves what I’ve been saying all season. We are a below average squad with 2 or 3 very good players – ASM being our best.

    We still look so vulnerable at the back and really weak in midfield.

    This won’t end 2-1 the way Burnley are attacking us so we need at least a third here.

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