PL PREVIEW: Burnley v Leicester City

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Clarets face the Foxes in last midweek date at Turf Moor

2021-03-03T09:54:14.760Z

PL PREVIEW: Burnley v Leicester City

Clarets face the Foxes in last midweek date at Turf Moor

2021-03-03T09:54:14.760Z

Clarets face the Foxes in last midweek date at Turf Moor

The Clarets play their final midweek game before a trip to Elland Road in May as they take on top-four hopefuls Leicester City.

Sean Dyche’s men face their 15th match since getting their 2021 schedule underway on 9th January.

Injuries continue to take their toll, although top scorer Chris Wood is set to figure as he looks to continue his impressive strike rate against his former club.

The Clarets were also stretched when they kicked off their Premier League campaign at Leicester last September.

Centrebacks Ben Mee and James Tarkowski were among the absentees as Burnley started out with a 4-2 defeat.

PL PREVIEW: Burnley v Newcastle United - Image 1

The pair have again been mainstays of the Clarets’ climb away from the foot of the table in the past few months since being reunited in the middle of Burnley’s back four.

And while Mee admits the defensive performance in Sunday’s 4-0 loss at Tottenham wasn’t good enough, the Clarets’ skipper is in upbeat mood ahead of a return date with the Foxes as Burnley look to increase their five-point gap above the Premier League’s bottom three and potentially climb to 14th place in the table.

“It was tough at Tottenham, but we have a home game now and we always back ourselves at home,” said Mee.

“We have got ourselves in a very good position from earlier in the season and we will keep looking forwards and upwards.

“We want to put on a performance every game and we’re looking forward to the next few games and trying to pick up some more points.”

Team news

The Clarets will still be without striker Ashley Barnes and widemen Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Robbie Brady may be given longer to recover from injury.

Defender Erik Pieters will face a check, but top scorer Chris Wood and Dale Stephens came through their comebacks as substitutes at Tottenham last Sunday and will be involved.

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Leicester also have their share of injury concerns with eight senior players potentially out of contention.

Burnley-born forward Harvey Barnes – who has scored 13 goals this season –suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal and is set to undergo surgery.

Defender Jonny Evans also picked up a calf problem in the loss to the Gunners and could join James Maddison (hip), James Justin (knee), Ayoze Pérez (knee), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Dennis Praet (hamstring) and Wes Morgan (back) on the absent list.

However, Fofana could feature if Evans is ruled out.

Form guide

The 15th-placed Clarets saw their four-match unbeaten run in the league come to an end with Sunday’s 4-0 reverse at Tottenham.

Burnley have lost only one of their last five home league games but have drawn their last three at Turf Moor.

Leicester have lost their last two games after being beaten only once in their previous 16 matches in all competitions.

PL PREVIEW: Burnley v Leicester City - Image 3

The Foxes went out of the Europa League thanks to a 2-0 aggregate defeat to Sparta Prague and then lost at home for the second time in four days when a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal saw Brendan Rodgers’s side slip to third in the Premier League.

Leicester have lost only once away from home all season in the league – a 3-1 loss at Liverpool in November.

The Foxes won the first meeting this season as they recorded a 4-2 victory over an injury-hit Burnley side playing their first league game of the campaign.

Opposition camp

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers: "In every game in this league, anything is possible.

"We have to recover and get our energy back and go to a tough place. Burnley lost on Sunday so they'll be keen to win.

"We have to be fully committed. We have to go in with belief and confidence to gain the result.

"It's been a taxing season for us, with Europe and the uniqueness of the season itself."

Match stats

Defender Matt Lowton is set to make his 150th league appearance for the Clarets and his 300th English league appearance following earlier spells with Aston Villa (72 games) and Sheffield United (78).

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Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez could make the 199th Premier League appearance of his career across spells with the Clarets, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

Clarets forward Chris Wood scored his first Premier League goal for Leicester City in August 2014 in a 2-2 draw with Everton.

Wood has scored in three successive appearances against the Foxes and would become only the second player in the Premier League era – after Craig Bellamy – to make it four in a row against a former club.

Sean Dyche needs one point to reach 250 as Burnley’s manager in the Premier League: (216) 65-54-97 209-299.

Leicester have won just three of their 26 top-flight games at Burnley. They are looking to complete a first top-flight double over the Clarets after a 4-2 win in the reverse fixture in September.

A Burnley win would make it three defeats in a row for Leicester for the first time under manager Brendan Rodgers.

Referee

Andy Madley

VAR

Stuart Attwell

Kick-off

Wednesday 6pm

Coverage

Sky Sports