Turfed on the Moor - Burnley to feel the squeeze
Saturday's lunchtime kick-off in the Premier League sees Burnley take on Arsenal at Turf Moor. The Clarets are enduring a sticky patch of form at present that is threatening to pull them back down towards the bottom three, with all the relegation candidates picking up points in recent games. The visitors meanwhile continually flatter to deceive - besting Champions League hopefuls in their own backyard, but falling to Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers by the same token. There's definitely more creativity and verve in the Gunners' ranks, and the hosts will need to be at their best to stifle the side with better individual talent. Read our preview here:
On a Tark
On the face of it, only one defeat in the last six is quite a decent return for Sean Dyche's men, coming as it did against an on-song Tottenham Hotspur, with Gareth Bale playing the role of tormentor in chief. Three of their four draws in that period came against the clutch of teams directly below them, which, whilst disappointing from the perspective of putting more daylight between them, at least ensured they themselves weren't caught in those vital clashes. Better still was the creditable 1-1 tie with Leicester in midweek, a game in which only a moment of magic from Kelechi Ihenacho denied them an excellent victory. The Foxes were under par on the night, but Arsenal are less likely to be so accommodating in attack. The partnership of Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, the envy of many clubs outside the top six or seven in the country, need to stand firm to deal with the movement Mikel Arteta's side have in the final third. The latter should have the beating of all his potential adversaries in the air, but is more likely to have to anticipate quick and incisive ground passes; getting ahead of his man will be vital in maintaining the low back.
Partey-ing in East Lancashire
The overarching strategy employed by Arteta rests largely on one of the pivots in the 4-2-3-1 system being able to carry the ball out of defensive midfield to link up with the more attack-minded players. Granit Xhaka is not that man, and he covers the ground well in front of the back four whilst being a threat from the free kicks around the area the pacier members of the XI tend to gain. Thomas Partey has endured a mixed start to life at the Emirates, and has been dogged by short but frequent injury setbacks. However, these have only served to further underline the vital role he undertakes in the lineup, and against the massed ranks of bodies in claret and blue, he will need to break through those lines to tear up Dyche's plans to simply sit tight and catch Arsenal out on the break or from a set play.
The dark Arts
The inconsistency of Arsenal's season to date was best summed up in the reverse fixture, with a typically ill-disciplined performance by Xhaka resulted in an early sending off, and the Clarets' corners eventually paid off to send them back up north with all three points. Things have not vastly improved in the interim period, and there is a feeling that whilst many of the younger players are impressing on a reasonably regular basis, The issue for the home side is that they rarely have an answer when their opponents are capable of scoring twice, which the north London outfit most certainly are, despite the strength Burnley have in goal and in central defence. Betfair have odds of 2.00 on over 2.5 goals.
