Burnley meet Sunderland at Turf Moor in a top of Championship encounter.
Victory will see Burnley climb to the summit until Leeds play on Sunday lunchtime, whilst Sunderland can leapfrog the Clarets into second with a win.
Team News
Burnley have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 3-1 extra-time win at Reading in the FA Cup last weekend.
Hannibal (suspension), Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond (both calf), Jordan Beyer and Aaron Ramsey (both knee) are still ruled out.
Sunderland will be without defender, Aji Alese after he suffered a knee injury in their FA Cup exit against Stoke.
Dan Ballard (muscle) and Ahmed Abdullahi (groin) could feature if fit for selection.
Ian Poveda (muscle), Romaine Mundle (hamstring), Alan Browne (leg), Tommy Watson (knee/ankle), Jenson Seelt and Niall Huggins (both knee) remain sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Burnley host Sunderland at Turf Moor on Friday 17 January at 8pm GMT, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Burnley have lost one of their last five league meetings against Sunderland (W2, D2, L1).
- Sunderland are winless in their last five league visits to Burnley (D3, L2).
- Burnley have failed to score in their last two meetings against Sunderland (D1, L1).
- Three of Burnley’s four goals in 2025 in all competitions have been scored by Zian Flemming.
- Jobe Bellingham and Dennis Cirkin have both been booked in two of Sunderland’s last three away games.
Prediction
The start of 2025 hasn’t exactly seen Burnley at their best and they were certainly made to work for their FA Cup win at Reading, although they thankfully have had nearly a week to regroup for this crucial home game in which I expect them to make some improvements as can’t rely on Flemming’s goals whilst others dip in form.
Sunderland though will be relieved slightly be out of the FA Cup because they can now put their weight behind their automatic promotion push, having rested Bellingham and Wilson Isidor last weekend with the pair certainly looking key to their promotion chances and a win here would certainly boost their hopes.
Turf Moor though hasn’t really been a strong hunting ground for the Black Cats lately but after snatching a clinical home win earlier this season and with Burnley having scraped results lately, I can see Sunderland nicking a point here if they play with the quality which saw them enjoy a solid festive period.
Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Sunderland
Result: Burnley 0-0 Sunderland
Leave a Reply