Clarets Mad - Clarets v Sheffield United, English Premier League Match Preview.
Venue: Turf Moor, Harry Potts Way, Burnley BB10 4BX.
Kick-off – 15.00 – Saturday 2nd December 2023.

Last Saturday saw both of this weekend’s EPL Turf Moor protagonists suffer quite catastrophic home defeats. Bournemouth hammered Paul Heckingbottom’s Blades 3-1 and Burnley managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory conceding two late goals to eventually suffer a 2-1 home defeat to West Ham United.

It may well qualify as the understatement of the year to claim that both teams urgently need three points from this bottom of the table clash between last season’s Championship winners and runners up. The gulf in class between the second tier of English football and the English Premier League has perhaps never been so evident.

Burnley sit rock bottom of the league with 4 points from 13 games while Sheffield United have mustered 1 point more from the same number of games. Goal difference is also bleak, the Clarets are minus 22 and the Blades on the back of their infamous 8-0 home defeat to Newcastle United suffer a goal difference of minus 23.

One can only speculate if Saturday’s losing manager will still be in his job on Monday morning; Heckingbottom presently looks to be the more vulnerable to be the first victim of the annual EPL manager’s sack race. The Blades’ managerial rallying call following his teams humiliating defeat to the Cherries last Saturday can already be heard in the hills of east Lancashire. Saturday promises to bring one heck of a footballing afternoon at Turf Moor.

One’s to watch: Neither team are exactly setting the goalscoring charts on fire. The Clarets will once again be without Lyle Foster who is still suffering with mental health issues. Swiss striker Zeki Amdouni and Luca Koleosho are both playing consistently well for the Clarets but seem to be extremely goal shy when opportunities to score arise.

For the Blades, Oli McBurnie looks to be the most probable threat to a very leaky Clarets defence, but a high scoring game seems to be awfully unlikely given the total lack of firepower both teams are currently suffering.

Verdict: The key to this game will I think be set pieces. Burnley struggle at both ends of the pitch to defend or attack them, while Heckingbottom sets his team up to be the exact opposite. A 2-1 away win is my prediction by virtue of the Blades ability to make set pieces count.

Footnote: Whenever the Blades play Burnley, my mind always takes me back to that glorious May day in 2009 when a Wade Elliot wonder goal took Owen Coyle’s team back into the English Premier League following years of suffering deprivation in the lower tiers of English league football. Sadly, I can see no way both teams will not be returning to the Championship hand-in-hand together, no matter what the outcome of Saturday’s game will be. (TEC).

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