Clarets v Royals Match Preview.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Clarets v Royals Match Preview.
Turf Moor, Burnley, BB10 4BX.
Kick-off – 15.00. Saturday, 29th October 2022.

Unless QPR beat Birmingham on Friday night, Burnley will entertain the Royals on Saturday afternoon as the top team in the Championship in the wake of a narrow 1-0 home win against Norwich City on Tuesday night.

Reading will arrive at Turf Moor sitting 8th in the table following a 2-0 home win against Bristol City last weekend. I think it’s fair to say the Berkshire outfit are this season’s surprise package in the Championship, Paul Ince’s team were widely tipped to struggle in a relegation battle during this campaign.

The Royals are yet another football club with a Chinese owner, Yongge Dai is the latest incumbent in the Chairman’s seat at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, formerly known as the Madejski Stadium.

The Clarets will be without Jack Cork who picked up a harsh yellow card during the win against the Canaries and is on a one game suspension following the accumulation of five yellows this season. Long term Claret casualties include the injured trio of Ashley Westwood, Scott Twine and Darko Churlinov. Josh Cullen also remains doubtful which will certainly stretch Vincent Kompany’s midfield options.

One’s to watch: For Reading, veteran striker Andy Carroll netted on his last outing against Bristol City and always poses a constant threat from set pieces. The manager’s son Tom Ince is an excellent Championship quality player and has netted on three occasions already this season.

For the Clarets, Nathan Tella continues to play with a smile on his face and will no doubt be working in tandem with Burnley’s leading scorer Jay Rodriguez to try and ensure Burnley stay in the Championship’s top spot come Saturday teatime. Annas Zaroury is starting to find his feet at Turf Moor and will almost certainly provide the Royals’ full backs with a testing afternoon.

Verdict: Yet another hard-fought Championship game is on the cards, both teams will be looking to win the game, but I think Burnley playing on the front foot with home advantage might just nick another three points.

Footnote: Which Burnley fan could ever forget the memorable 2-0 win at the Mad Stad in the Championship second leg away playoff game when two of the best goals you could ever imagine won the game for the Clarets. A 30-yard screamer from Martin Paterson was followed by another wonder strike from Steve Thompson to send Burnley to Wembley. An unforgettable afternoon ensued in North London and a 1-0 win against Sheffield United saw Burnley return to the top table of English football after a quite remarkable season under the auspices of Owen Coyle.

From: The Editor’s Chair – Clarets Mad.

Attachment 22774

[barrie_burn]

Chinese owner at Reading? There are a lot of young Dai's in Wales,surely he's Welsh

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Cork will be sorely missed, if Cullen is also out with injury the Royals will have a real chance at upsetting VK's apple cart.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Match day tomorrow, QPR are currently losing and can Bastien put in a shift and replace Cork and let's hope Cullen is fit. COYC!

Attachment 22782

[sinkov]

Match day tomorrow, QPR are currently losing and can Bastien put in a shift and replace Cork and let's hope Cullen is fit. COYC!

Attachment 22782

VK didn't sound hopeful about Cullen at the Presser, but who knows, you can never believe a word they say, he may just want to keep Mr Ince guessing.

[sinkov]

Plenty of rain forecast for tomorrow. Good, if there's one thing soft southerners don't like, it's travelling up north and finding it's pissing down when they get here. OK, that's two things, but you know what I mean.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

At the start of the season when the incomings and outgoings were being announced seemingly on an hour-by-hour basis, the obvious "holes" were in the striker department and the midfield department also looked short of numbers.

If Cullen is not fit, "Houston, we have a problem".

[sinkov]

At the start of the season when the incomings and outgoings were being announced seemingly on an hour-by-hour basis, the obvious "holes" were in the striker department and the midfield department also looked short of numbers.

If Cullen is not fit, "Houston, we have a problem".

Not an insurmountable one mon ami, we have players who can play virtually anywhere, Vitinho, Roberts, Maatsen are just three who are liable to pop up anywhere on the pitch. It's not ideal, but whether we win lose or draw does not depend on the availability of Josh Cullen.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Not an insurmountable one mon ami, we have players who can play virtually anywhere, Vitinho, Roberts, Maatsen are just three who are liable to pop up anywhere on the pitch. It's not ideal, but whether we win lose or draw does not depend on the availability of Josh Cullen.

The midfield three of Brownhill, Cullen and Cork have been the basis of our exceptional early season form, take 2 from 3 and I think we have a problem mon ami.

[sinkov]

The midfield three of Brownhill, Cullen and Cork have been the basis of our exceptional early season form, take 2 from 3 and I think we have a problem mon ami.

No team has 100% availability of players throughout a season, players missing, key players missing, is something every team and manager has to cope with during a season. In fact a big part of a manager's job is problem solving, if it was a straightforward job, if it was easy, we'd all be doing it. If we cannot cope without Cork and Cullen, then we can probably forget promotion.