Burnley vs Brighton
Date: 06/02/2021
K/O: 15:00
Venue: Turf Moor
Referee: Anthony Taylor
TV: Sky Sports
Brighton travel to Turf Moor this weekend on the back of two impressive 1-0 victories as Tottenham and Liverpool both came unstuck against an organised Brighton defence and threatening attack.
Graham Potter’s team have been criticised a lot this season for playing attractive football without the results, but these recent wins reinforced the ideals he is trying to instil at the club. They’ve accumulated ten points in the previous four fixtures, without conceding a goal in this time, with defensive solidity key to their recent performances. The trip to Burnley, however, poses a different threat. Liverpool and Tottenham are pussycats in comparison to the physical presence of Burnley, who will be happy to sacrifice possession. Burnley will offer little in attack but are always a threat at set-pieces.
Sean Dyche has been talking about “lookie-likies” in a recent press conference leading up to this weekend’s fixture and he’ll be after an Aston Villa “lookie-likie” performance for the visit of Brighton. This recent win over the high flying Midlands club was somewhat of an anomaly of the Sean Dyche reign. Conceding two and scoring three, it’s an unheard of scoreline for the Clarets. Brighton share a lot of similarities to Villa, with both adventures in attack – something Burnley may be able to exploit. I doubt they’ll see much of the ball in the game, but one moment of brilliance or good fortune from Dwight McNeil could breach the current unbreachable Brighton defence.
Team News
Burnley
Burnley were without the services of five first-team players against Man City midweek in the form of Chris Wood, Charlie Taylor, Robbie Brady, Ashley Barnes and Josh Brownhill. Sean Dyche has ensured these are no long term injuries but leaves the boss limited with options this weekend.
Burnley will more than likely remain unchanged from the previous fixture unless Ashley Barnes passes fit and replaces Matej Vydra in attack. The Burnley boss will be pushing for the Bath born Austrian’s return to add some much-needed goals to his attack. Both Jay Rodriguez and Vydra are yet to score in the league this season, who both started the previous fixture.
Brighton
The Seagulls were also without five first-team regulars for the win over Liverpool, which included Tariq Lamptey, Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Veltman, Danny Welbeck and Alireza Jahanhakhsh. All five are still unlikely to feature against Burnley this weekend, though Mac Allister and Veltman may be in contention for a place on the bench.
Solly March was added to the injury list and could miss the rest of the season, after picking up a knee injury in the last fixture. This creates a problem for the Brighton manager who is now missing Lamptey and March in the right wing-back position. Steven Alzate may be used in an unfamiliar position, with Adam Lallana taking up his place in the centre of midfield. Aaron Connolly may be recalled in attack if Potter decides to freshen up his team in this busy schedule, but I can’t imagine there will be any unforced changes.
Predicted Starting XIs
Burnley (4-4-2): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Gudmundsson, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Rodriguez, Vydra
Brighton (3-5-2): Sanchez; White, Dunk, Webster; Alzate, Gross, Bissouma, Lallana, Burn; Maupay, Trossard
Prediction: Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Brighton will be full of confidence after their two recent victories against two of the league’s elite. However, Burnley is a different monster altogether. Burnley will sacrifice possession, the same as Tottenham, but will press with far more intensity. This will stop Brighton from building any momentum with the ball, so expect a lot of sideways passing.
They will also not be as adventurous as Liverpool in attack, lowering the opportunity for Brighton to hurt the hosts on the counter. I envisage Brighton will leave Turf Moor frustrated and will pose little threat to Nick Pope’s goal. Burnley have lost much of their impetus in attack without the injured Chris Wood, but may be able to exploit Brighton’s makeshift right-wing back. They’ll always be a threat at set-pieces and for any first goalscorer punters out there, back James Tarkowski to score the first and winning goal this weekend.
