Burnley's slow ascent continues in Yorkshire
Leeds United and Burnley will have the luxury of not having to play on Boxing Day; instead, the war of the roses will take place on the 27th at lunchtime in the Premier League. Marcelo Bielsa's men will still be reeling from the 6-2 reverse at the hands of Manchester United last time out. Meanwhile, the Clarets have shaken off some truly rotten powderpuff performances and results in the early rounds of the top tier, and look well-placed to carry on their climb away from the relegation zone at their hosts' expense. Read our preview here:
Klich into place
Whilst the number of points accrued to date probably should've been a bit higher, Bielsa has been able to rely on key figures to keep Leeds in the hunt for points. Patrick Bamford has graced the top tier once more with some aplomb, Raphinha has started to carve out a niche for himself on the right of the 4-1-4-1 shape, and most pertinently of all, Mateusz Klich has kept things running in the engine room, directly contributing to seven goals already in the campaign to date, and can operate as a pivot or behind the lone stiker if called upon. Most of his side's approach play goes through him, and he in turn redirects balls to the flanks for crossing opportunities for Bamford to convert or knock down back to the runners from midfield. The high intensity regime ensures that the Polish 30 year-old covers every blade of grass in an attempt to tire out the opposition and support what is now the leakiest defence of all 20 teams.
No fool on the Brownhill
One of the chief architects behind Burnley's revival of late, besides Ashley Barnes finding his scoring boots again, has been the little-heralded Josh Brownhill. Sean Dyche rarely deviates from the tried and tested conventional 4-4-2, which means the two central midfielders have the onus placed firmly on their shoulders to perform a dual role. The former Bristol City mainstay's timely interceptions in central spaces, ability in the air, and then retain possession once won points to a strong spine in claret and blue. The similar formations will make Kalvin Phillips largely redundant as the anchor for the hosts; the east Lancashire outfit tend to play out wide with overlapping full-backs offering a second option find Barnes and target man Chris Wood from.
Red, red rose
Whilst Bielsa might be considering some fresh recruits to shore up the porous backline in the transfer window, Dyche is unlikely to be able to add much to his tight-knit roster, operating as he does under a comparatively tight ship. This has coincided with cutting out some easily avoidable gaffes in their own back five (including goalkeeper Nick Pope), and whilst they're never likely to go on a scoring spree, they've been racking up some impressive results against more vaunted opposition recently, including Arsenal and Everton. They're at a high price of 4.33 with bet365 to add Leeds to an ever-growing list.
