“As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport”. Well things didn’t quite fall apart on Thursday evening but it was almost as if they did. With Everton trailing 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace at half-time and Burnley leading 1-0 at Villa Park courtesy of Ashley Barnes coolly taken penalty it briefly looked possible that Burnley would not just push Leeds back into the bottom three but leapfrog Everton in the process. The footballing gods were, it seems, smiling on the Clarets. Cue then those fickle fingers of fate. Within minutes of the restart at Villa Park the home side equalised following a foul throw which went undetected by the match officials. Everton then contrived to begin an inspired second half which would see them eventually run out 3-2 winners and guarantee their Premier League status.

So then there were two. It will be either Leeds or Burnley who join Watford and Norwich in the Championship next season. At least matters remain in Burnley’s hands. Match Leeds result at Brentford on Sunday and Burnley will avoid relegation. Newcastle United will be the visitors to Turf Moor on that final day. They will bring with them not only former Burnley manager Eddie Howe but former Clarets Chris Wood and Kieran Trippier. Wood, who missed Monday night’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, should be fit for the clash at Turf Moor. Trippier, who was an unused substitute against Arsenal, could again be on the bench. Callum Wilson, who scored the only goal when Newcastle met Burnley at St James’ Park in December, will lead the Newcastle attack alongside Almirón and Saint-Maximin. Ahead of that December game Burnley were referred to as an obstinate object that simply wouldn’t flush out of the Premier League. Newcastle will no doubt feel that they will never have a better chance to pull the chain themselves and complete the job.

Burnley manager Mike Jackson may well start the game at Turf Moor with the 5-3-2 formation that was deployed at Aston Villa featuring three centre backs Tarkowski, Long and Collins flanked by Connor Roberts and Charlie Taylor. Maxwel Cornet who was brought down at Villa Park to win the penalty should start with Ashley Barnes. Wout Weghorst is likely to be a substitute while Jay Rodriguez could well miss out.

Events in recent days have thrown up a number of instances, ranging from flare throwing to full scale pitch invasions, that have highlighted a disturbing spiralling downward trend in behaviour at football matches. Following the end of the Championship play off semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United at the City Ground, Sheffield United veteran striker Billy Sharp was headbutted by a pitch invader. There were ugly scenes too at Port Vale where Swindon players were allegedly verbally and physically abused by home fans at the end of the match. At Goodison Park Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira was harassed as he tried to make his way unescorted off the pitch. It is devoutly to be hoped that there will be no such scenes at Turf Moor on Sunday whatever the final result. The atmosphere, bearing in mind what is at stake, will be electric and hopefully Burnley fans will be celebrating at the final whistle.

The match referee is Craig Pawson with Jarred Gillett on VAR. Kick off is at 4pm and the forecast is for light cloud with a gentle breeze from the South West. A home win will do the trick. COYC!