Clarets v Toffees Match Preview.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Clarets Mad - Clarets v Toffees, English Premier League Match Preview.
Venue: Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Liverpool, L4 4EL.
Kick-off – 15.00 – Saturday 6th April 2024.

Following midweek 1-1 draws for both Burnley and Everton, three points for a win on Saturday are absolutely essential for the duo in the battle for survival to avoid relegation to the Championship. The Clarets hopes of beating the drop are now hanging by the faintest of threads. A loss at Goodison and the fat lady can start clearing her throat to sing for the men from Turf Moor.

Burnley’s financial accounts following their last relegation do not make great reading, another relegation could be financially disastrous. To say the Clarets, have everything to play for might be the understatement of the year but Everton’s financial situation makes Burnley’s look like a walk in the park. I often wonder why Championship clubs clamour to get a slice of the EPL’s tainted cake.

Saturday will bring a reunion of sorts; former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, and players like James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, and Dwight O’Neil will all be on hand to do all they can to help bring an early end to Burnley’s stay in the English Premier League. The Toffees have already beaten Burnley twice this season and are clear favourites to make it a hat-trick of season victories.

Ones to watch:
Since Aro Muric was reinstated between the Burnley sticks the Clarets rear-guard are not conceding with alarming frequency and Foster, Fofana, Amdouni and Wilson are all capable of testing the home defence.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin ended his long scoring drought from the penalty sport against Newcastle on Tuesday night. James Garner hit the post and put the cross in which led to the penalty being awarded and another substitute Andre Gomes can be relied on to compete against the Clarets’ midfield pairing of Sander Berge and Josh Cullen.

Verdict: Given the pressure on both teams to win, a 1-1 draw seems the likeliest of outcomes. One point each will not really help either team in the relegation dogfight, but a draw is what I will ultimately go for.

Footnote: One more in a lengthy line of diabolical refereeing decisions went a long way to denying the Clarets a much-needed win on Tuesday night against the Wolves. A phantom non-existent free-kick was awarded by yet another hapless EPL match official which was punished by the Old Gold grabbing an undeserved first-half equalizer.

It simply should not be that the standard of match officiating and the operational effectiveness of VAR have become the major post-match topics for EPL media scrutiny and analysis.

The usually phlegmatic Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been charged by the FA for his vitriolic attack on the match officials at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Who can now possibly disregard the former EPL referee Mark Halsey’s acerbic comments when he claimed the EPL match officials are ordered to “look the other way and see what they are told to see” or words to that effect by the PGMOL. I notice he was never sued for his disparaging claims.

Pre-match I now dread to think in which new way the match officials in conjunction with VAR analysis will conspire to rob Burnley of a deserved match outcome. At least a FIFA rated “proper” referee is in charge at Goodison.

Let’s all hope it is the football and not the match officials who are making the headlines at five o’clock on Saturday afternoon.
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook. Fourth official: Steve Martin. VAR: David Coote. Assistant VAR: Wade Smith.

Whatever the outcome of Saturday’s match, if you are attending - enjoy the game. (TEC).

[sinkov]

"Let’s all hope it is the football and not the match officials who are making the headlines at five o’clock on Saturday afternoon."

What a sad and sorry indictment of PL football and the state of PL refereeing. It's why it will not break everyone's heart should we be relegated.

[ballcock]

"Let’s all hope it is the football and not the match officials who are making the headlines at five o’clock on Saturday afternoon."

What a sad and sorry indictment of PL football and the state of PL refereeing. It's why it will not break everyone's heart should we be relegated.

The only people who are responsible for our relgation is ourselves. We have been ****e from start to finish, in a league that has never been easier to stay in for a promoted club.

To keep blaming officials for our demise is plain ridiculous

[The Bedlington Terrier]

The only people who are responsible for our relgation is ourselves. We have been ****e from start to finish, in a league that has never been easier to stay in for a promoted club.

To keep blaming officials for our demise is plain ridiculous

The eight points we have had robbed off us would have put us in easy street. The EPL is just one corrupt money-spinning machine, without scruples or morals.

VAR and the so-called point deductions are a f*cking farce.

Get me out of it.

It all started to go tits up when the EPL would not let us kick-off the season on the right date, if Luton's ground was not fit for purpose they should have been left in the Chumpionship.

[kritichris]

The eight points we have had robbed off us would have put us in easy street. The EPL is just one corrupt money-spinning machine, without scruples or morals.

VAR and the so-called point deductions are a f*cking farce.

Get me out of it.

It all started to go tits up when the EPL would not let us kick-off the season on the right date, if Luton's ground was not fit for purpose they should have been left in the Chumpionship.

I'd forgotten about that, now there's a big IF.