The Clarets to get their season going at last
Burnley make the journey north to face Newcastle United in the late evening kick-off on Saturday. The Magpies have four points from their first three after a late smash-and-grab draw last time out at Tottenham Hotspur. The visitors, having played one game fewer, are without a point... but St. James Park could prove to be the perfect springboard to reverse their slide down the standings. Read our preview here:
Toon Army desperately lacking creativity
New signing Callum Wilson has been one of the few bright spots for Steve Bruce in 2020/2021 thus far; the striker, purchased from AFC Bournemouth, already has two league goals to his name from three outings, but is likely to come up against a centre-back pairing renowned for both shutting down attacks on the edge of their own box and relishing a physical air war. Therefore, it might fall on someone else to create some space against a rear-guard action that always try to minimise the number of angles with which to pop a shot off towards Nick Pope. Jeff Kendrick faces his former employers, and it could fall on his shoulders to drag the opposition defence out of position.
Tarkowski's return is timely
Ben Mee remains sidelined for the encounter, which should give room for sought-after James Tarkowski to come back into the first XI. Both sides will almost certainly stick with the increasingly rare conventional 4-4-2 formation, and with a dearth of runners from midfield taking risks, it plays into the visitors' hands. The east Lancashire outfit have been leaking goals far too easily in the opening weeks of the delayed season, and the man wanted by top six side Leicester City ought to get the better of both the aforementioned Wilson, and his distinctly 'square peg in a round hole' partner Joelinton. At the other end, expect them to take any attacking set pieces with relish and accuracy, and with a deluge of good targets to aim for, that could prove decisive.
Low on goals, low on entertainment, but...
It's clear from the above that most punters are going to be dissuaded from any markets with a high yield of goals in them. Whilst it's undeniable that both sides' defences have been weak this term, Tarkowski is a difference maker in that respect, and neither team can boast the most free-flowing attack to pounce on any errors. These sorts of fixtures can help to shape a campaign, and Burnley in particular desperately need a boost. Betfair are offering generous odds of 9.0 for a 1-0 win for Sean Dyche's men, and that sounds eminently plausible.
