Burnley vs Leicester City
Date: 14/04/2018
K/O: 15.00pm
Venue: Turf Moor
Referee: Martin Atkinson
It feels odd to write, but Saturday’s clash between Burnley and Leicester is pivotal in deciding the Premier League’s representatives for next season’s Europa League.
Sean Dyche’s men find themselves currently six points clear of Leicester, and a win against the 2016 champions should be enough to ensure a seventh place or higher finish.
Burnley will once again be without Ben Mee who has a recurring shin problem, though Gudmundson could return in midfield for the Clarets.
Embed from Getty ImagesLeicester are without Vincente Iborra who could be out for the season with a hamstring injury whilst Wilfred Ndidi completes a two-match suspension.
Sean Dyche was linked with the Leicester job earlier in the season, and after seeing how high his Burnley team has flown the Foxes hierarchy may just be regretting not pushing harder for him.
Saying this, Claude Puel has not performed badly at all. He has got the old guard of Jamie Vardy and to an extent Riyad Mahrez back up and firing, ensuring that his team have not been part of the relegation dog-fight for the majority of the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesJamie Vardy is on a fine run of form at the moment, and Burnley’s defence will have a task on their hands keeping him at a bay. But so is Burnley’s Ashley Barnes – this will be a real battle of the rustley English strikers at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Burnley have a stress-free run in and coupled with their solid home form I see them winning this one.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Burnley: Heaton; Lowton, Long, Tarkowski, Ward; Lennon, Westwood, Cork, Gudmunsson; Wood, Barnes.
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell; Mahrez, Choudhury, Adrien Silva, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy.
Prediction: Burnley 2 Leicester City 1
Written by Dom Clarke.
