Sean Dyche would be looking towards his team to break their away duck as they go up against Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side at the Emirates.
Arsenal are fresh off a 4-0 drubbing of Swansea and are on a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League after back-to-back losses. The Gunners could find themselves jumping up to second if they secure a win against Burnley and if other results go their way.
Burnley have a truly dreadful away record. No wins in their 9 travels with just 1 point taken from the 9 trips is in absolute contrast to their smouldering hot home form. But Sean Dyche would be looking to solidify his side’s mid-table credentials with a good performance and hopefully a result against the Gunners.
The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at all the news surrounding the fixture that is Arsenal vs Burnley.
Team News & Tactics
Arsenal FC
Kieran Gibbs, Francis Coquelin and Hector Bellerin are all back in training but only Bellerin is likely to be in contention for a place in the starting eleven with the former two still some distance away from being fully fit.
Olivier Giroud will be assessed before the kick-off to decide whether the Frenchman will be ready to lead the frontline, something which he has done with aplomb since being reinstated into the lineup. In case he does not achieve fitness, Alexis Sanchez could be pushed back to the front by Wenger, a position the Chilean has excelled at this season.
Or perhaps, Wenger could gamble and hand Danny Welbeck a rare start in an Arsenal shirt with the Englishman fit and raring to prove himself all over again. Elsewhere, the likes of Per Mertesacker, Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Mathieu Debuchy are still out with their respective injury issues.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Xhaka; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez
Burnley FC
Unlike the manager in the opposite dugout, Sean Dyche does not have many injury issues to worry about. The trio of Dean Marney, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Scott Arfield are doubtful and could be set to miss the trip to Emirates. Other than that, there are no other absentees reported, something which will delight the boss.
Joey Barton made a heroic return as he scored the winner after coming on against Southampton to give Burnley the three points and could be set to start against Arsenal.
It isn’t a shock when the top three rated players for Burnley this season as per whoscored are their centre-back duo and goalkeeper. Michael Keane and Ben Mee have struck an impressive chord while Tom Heaton has been just brilliant between the posts, with the highlight being the 0-0 draw against Manchester United. Heaton’s form has even seen him being called up to the senior Three Lions squad and Dyche will be hoping he can rely on him to save them from Arsenal’s barrage.
Probable Lineup (4-3-2-1): Heaton; Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Boyd, Barton, Defour; Hendrick; Gray, Barnes
Betting Odds
Favourable Bets:
1. Over 9.5 Total Corners @ 1.66
2. Over 1.5 Manchester United cards @ 1.57
3. Both Teams to Score – YES @ 1.95
Underdog Bets:
1. Over 2.5 Manchester United goals @ 3.40
Key Stats
1. Burnley have lost their last five away games to Arsenal in all competitions. A potential grind.
2. Arsenal have scored exactly three goals in the last two home Premier League encounters against Burnley.
3. Burnley have never scored more than 2 goals in all competitions in an away game against Arsenal in their entire history.
4. Burnley come into the game having kept three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
5. No other clubs apart from the bottom four have lost as many or more games than Burnley (11).
Prediction
Arsenal FC 1 – 0 Burnley FC
This is a really tricky one to call, to be very honest. On paper and based on Burnley’s horrific away record, this should be an easy Arsenal win. But Sean Dyche has moulded a very determined squad at Turf Moor and you can always expect the newly promoted side to give it their all on the pitch, whoever might be the opposition.
Laurent Koscielny was the difference the last time out and, while you cannot expect the Frenchman to step up again and produce a similarly outrageous and well-timed goal, Arsenal’s array of world-class stars have the capability of turning one point into three within the blink of an eye.
And it is the star potential that has us swaying a bit towards the Gunners who are on a four game unbeaten run in the Premier League. We tip the Gunners to pip Burnley by a one-goal margin at the Emirates.
