Burnley welcome Sunderland to Turf Moor in Friday Night Football as 2022-23 Sky Bet Championship run-in commences.
Victory would see Burnley move 16 points clear of second-placed Sheffield United and to within two wins of sealing promotion back to the Premier League.
Sunderland meanwhile can go ninth with a win ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.
Team News
Lyle Foster is a doubt for Burnley after enduring passport issues which impacted his return from international duty for South Africa.
Josh Brownhill (foot), Jay Rodriguez (knock), Darko Churlinov (fitness) and Taylor Harwood-Bellis (foot) could all be in contention to return, although manager – Vincent Kompany will only risk the quartet if absolutely match fit.
Sunderland will be without Jewison Bennette for remainder of season due to a shoulder injury.
Amad Diallo (hamstring) is set to return but Niall Huggins (fitness) won’t be risked unless he is declared match fit by club doctors.
Dan Ballard (hamstring) is ruled out and joins Aji Alese (thigh), Corry Evans (knee), Elliot Embleton (ankle) and Ross Stewart (Achilles) on the sidelines.
When is Kick-Off?
Burnley host Sunderland in a 8pm BST kick-off on Friday 31 March at Turf Moor, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Burnley are unbeaten in four of their last five league meetings against Sunderland (W2, D2, L1).
- Sunderland have won just two of their last eight league visits to Burnley (W2, D4, L2).
- Both teams have scored in three of their last four meetings at Turf Moor.
- Vincent Kompany’s Clarets have dropped just two points in six league matches at home in 2023 (W5, D1).
- Four of Sunderland’s last six away goals have been scored after half-time.
Prediction
Despite suffering a brutal FA Cup Quarter-Final exit away at Manchester City, there were valuable lessons learned which they can put into practice during this run-in ahead of their top-flight return, although I do expect them to come and dominate this game given their home form.
Sunderland meanwhile displayed excellent attacking intensity in a well-deserved draw against Luton despite sloppy end product, whilst their defence looked solid except for a moment of poor marking which allowed Alfie Doughty to score for the Hatters.
Victory here however is vital for Sunderland who currently sit seven points outside of a play-off spot but they’re going to have to again be at their best, albeit with better defending but a draw would be a decent return if Burnley are still off-colour from their FA Cup embarrassment.
Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Sunderland
Result: Burnley 0-0 Sunderland