Burnley welcome Crystal Palace to Turf Moor in the first of a Monday Night Football double bill from the Premier League.
Victory will see Burnley climb out of the relegation zone whilst Palace can climb as high as fifth with a win depending on goal margins come the final whistle.
Team News
Johann Berg Gudmundsson could return for Burnley after recovering from a calf injury, although the Icelandic international suffered a groin issue during the international break so will face a late fitness check pre-match.
Robbie Brady (groin), Charlie Taylor (hamstring), Phil Bardsley (fitness) and Erik Pieters (calf) are also expected to return if pass late fitness tests.
Jack Cork (ankle) and Dale Stephens (hamstring) are sidelined but should return before the festive fixtures.
Palace will hand James Tomkins a late fitness test after the defender missed their win over Leeds prior to the international break with a recurrence of his thigh injury.
Eberechi Eze (fitness) will also be checked over whilst Joel Ward (groin) and Tyrick Mitchell (knock) are both available for selection, but Luka Milivojevic misses out after testing positive whilst on international duty with Serbia.
Conor Wickham, Wayne Hennessey (both unspecified) and Nathan Ferguson (knee) remain on sidelines with no set return dates.
Stat Attack
- Burnley have won just one of their last five meetings against Crystal Palace (W1, L4).
- Palace have won three of their last five trips to Turf Moor (W3, L2).
- Both teams have been awarded one penalty apiece in ten previous Premier League meetings, of which Burnley missed their attempt whilst Palace scored their spot-kick.
- Burnley’s Nick Pope has made one goal conceding error in seven league appearances this season compared to twice in 38 appearances last season.
- Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has scored four right-footed goals in eight league appearances this season compared to just two in 38 appearances throughout 2019-20 campaign.
Prediction
Burnley seem to be in a rut up front but one thing that they did superbly at Brighton just before the break was defend robustly against a dominant display from the Seagulls, which will stand them in good stead here but they must start pushing for goals if want to keep pace with those above them.
Palace meanwhile were absolutely clinical against Leeds last time out in terms of clinical attacking and carving out opportunities amongst their defence, of which I think Burnley must look to limit if the Clarets want a result otherwise Palace will fancy their chances here if can control the game.
Defending will therefore be quite crucial here for both teams but Palace seem to have found their strongest squad quality yet which is evident in their gameplay, so I can’t see them losing this unless Burnley dig in and make life difficult for the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew.
Prediction: Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Result: Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace
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