Since this article was published, this game has been called off due to a lack of available players for Burnley. A new date for the game will be confirmed in due course.
Burnley will play a Premier League match for the first time since January 2 when they welcome fellow strugglers Watford to Turf Moor for a relegation six-pointer on Tuesday night.
The Clarets have dropped to the bottom of the table, three points behind 17th-placed Watford, but Sean Dyche's side have three games in hand on 19th-placed Newcastle United and four in hand on 18th-placed Norwich City, with COVID-19 outbreaks forcing a number of their matches to be postponed.
Match preview
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There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing season for Burnley, who have a record of one win, eight draws and eight defeats from their 17 matches, which has left them bottom of the Premier League table on 11 points.
The Clarets, though, are only one point behind 19th-placed Newcastle, who have played three games more, and two behind Norwich, who have played four more matches than Dyche's side.
Burnley also have two games in hand on 17th-placed Watford and are just three points behind the Hornets, so it is not time for the home side to panic despite their struggles; they were due to take on Leicester City on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 cases and injuries within the Burnley squad.
As a result, this match is in danger of not going ahead, but the Clarets will hope to have recovered enough players in time to take to the field, having already seen matches against Watford, Aston Villa and Everton postponed in December due to coronavirus outbreaks among the opposition clubs.
Dyche's side have not been in Premier League action since losing 3-1 at Leeds United on January 2, but they also suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Huddersfield Town last weekend, with their last victory of any kind coming against Brentford in the Premier League at the end of October.
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Watford, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday; the Hornets were losing 1-0 until the 87th minute of the clash, when Joao Pedro came up with a vital equaliser.
The draw ended a run of seven straight defeats in all competitions, but Claudio Ranieri's side are still without a win in the league since beating Manchester United 4-1 on November 20.
Watford have two huge matches against Burnley and Norwich to come before the end of the month, and they would be pulled into the relegation zone if the home side manage to triumph in this fixture.
The Hornets have won twice on their travels in the league this season, overcoming Norwich and Everton, but they have lost their last two Premier League games against Burnley, including a 1-0 defeat when they last travelled to Turf Moor.
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Team News
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Burnley were without head coach Dyche and a number of first-team players against Huddersfield last weekend, and the club's situation ahead of this match is unclear.
Ashley Barnes is still out with a thigh problem, though, while Maxwel Cornet is in action at the Africa Cup of Nations, so the two attackers will definitely be unavailable for this contest.
Chris Wood has also moved on to Newcastle United, meaning that Jay Rodriguez and Aaron Lennon could line up as the front two, and there are unlikely to be any major surprises when it comes to team selection if everyone is available, with Dwight McNeil and Johann Berg Gudmundsson featuring out wide.
As for Watford, Nicolas Nkoulou, Peter Etebo, Ismaila Sarr and Kwadwo Baah remain unavailable through injury, while Imran Louza, Adam Masina and William Troost-Ekong are in action at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Fit-again Kiko Femenia is expected to return to the starting XI at right-back, but it could otherwise be the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Newcastle.
Indeed, Emmanuel Dennis and Joao Pedro should again support Joshua King in the final third, while recent arrivals Samir, Hassane Kamara and Edo Kayembe are expected to retain their starting spots.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; McNeil, Westwood, Cork, Gudmundsson; Rodriguez, Lennon
Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Femenia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara; Sissoko, Kayembe, Kucka; Dennis, King, Pedro
We say: Burnley 1-1 Watford
This match has a low-scoring draw written all over it, which is a result that does not suit either club. Watford will have been boosted by their point against Newcastle, but Burnley are still difficult to overcome despite their issues this season, and we are predicting a stalemate at Turf Moor.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Burnley win with a probability of 45.21%. A draw had a probability of 27.6% and a win for Watford had a probability of 27.24%.
The most likely scoreline for a Burnley win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.85%) and 2-1 (8.68%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.87%), while for a Watford win it was 0-1 (9.55%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
