Burnley will aim to further extend their lead at the top of the Championship table on Tuesday, when they welcome Watford to Turf Moor.
A 10th straight league win saw Vincent Kompany's side maintain their seven-point lead over second-placed Sheffield United, while they now sit 17 points clear of third spot in the fight for automatic promotion.
Match preview
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Burnley find themselves in a particularly enviable position in their fight for an immediate return to the Premier League under the management of Vincent Kompany this season, having consistently remained at the summit of the division and recently strengthened their bid with 10 straight league triumphs.
Following a 5-2 defeat away at promotion rivals Sheffield United, the Clarets went into the World Cup break in December on the back of a 3-0 beating of rivals Blackburn Rovers, and they have won all nine of their outings in England's second tier since the return to action, scoring 21 goals in those nine games while only allowing three at the other end, further strengthening their record as the division's most dangerous attack and its second strongest defence behind the second-placed Blades.
In that time since the break, Kompany's side have also advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup, as they firstly beat Bournemouth away from home before scraping past Ipswich Town in their fourth-round replay at Turf Moor thanks to a Nathan Tella brace, with the decisive goal coming deep into injury time.
Following that progression to the round of 16, Burnley were again on home turf at the weekend, as they took on Preston North End with the aim of taking another step towards promotion, and Tella was again the hero as he netted all three goals in a comfortable 3-0 beating of the fellow Lancashire outfit.
Now well on track to smash the club record of most league wins in a season, having already put 20 on the board in 30 attempts compared to the 26 they posted in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 Championship campaigns, the Clarets will aim to continue their march towards the top flight with an 11th second-tier victory on the bounce on Tuesday with the chance to move further clear of either Sheffield United in second spot or the chasing pack in the fight for automatic promotion.
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They meet a Watford side who will attempt to return to winning ways in Tuesday's unenviable test in Lancashire, having seen their playoff hopes take a hit in recent weeks following a tough run of form.
Following a 2-0 beating of Blackpool in January, the Hornets sat comfortably in the top six on 43 points from 27 league outings, but they have failed to add another notch to their wins column in four more attempts since, firstly having to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham United before being beaten 2-0 by fellow promotion-chasers Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
After being held to a 2-2 draw away at Reading, in a contest in which they led 2-0 through Ismaila Sarr and Ryan Porteous, Slaven Bilic's side were most recently in action at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday in an important clash in the playoff fight, and after going behind in the first half, they were at least able to take a share of the spoils as Wesley Hoedt levelled the game at a goal apiece in the final 20 minutes.
While they did stay ahead of Blackburn and remain inside the top six with that draw, Watford now only lead seventh-placed Sunderland by a single point having played a game more than most teams around them, and they face a particularly difficult trip on Tuesday in their bid to end a four-game wait for a win and put themselves back in a stronger position in their bid to return to the Premier League this term.
Team News
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Burnley remain without several key men due to injuries, as centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis, winger Manuel Benson and striker Jay Rodriguez are all confined to the treatment room, although Vincent Kompany does have plenty of depth throughout his squad and Ashley Barnes and January signings Michael Obafemi and Lyle Foster will likely battle to lead the line in Rodriguez's absence.
Elsewhere, Nathan Tella is their man in form, with the Southampton loanee having hit five goals in his last two games to take his tally to 14 for the season including 12 in the Championship, and he should again take one of the wide spots with the likes of Anass Zaroury, Vitinho, Scott Twine and Johann Berg Gudmundsson also vying to feature in the attacking line.
Josh Cullen and Josh Brownhill could again be given the nod over Jack Cork in the engine room, while Jordan Beyer and January signing Hjalmar Ekdal could continue their partnership in the middle of the back four in Harwood-Bellis's continued absence.
Watford's injury list has been much longer than that of their hosts in recent months, although Bilic's issues are beginning to ease with the likes of Imran Louza, Tom Cleverley and Christian Kabasele having all returned to contention, as has key attacker Joao Pedro.
Louza could earn his place back in the engine room from the outset alongside Hamza Choudhury, while Pedro is bound to be relied upon going forward together with Ismaila Sarr, having each netted eight league goals so far this term, with recent arrival Britt Assombalonga also vying to feature in the front line from the start.
After both also joining the Hornets in January, Ryan Porteous and Wesley Hoedt could again partner up at the back, after Craig Cathcart and Francisco Sierralta both missed the Blackburn contest, while Mario Gaspar and Hassane Kamara are set to keep their places on the right and left-hand sides of the back four respectively.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Muric; Roberts, Beyer, Ekdal, Maatsen; Brownhill, Cork; Tella, Gudmundsson, Zaroury; Rodriguez
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Gaspar, Hoedt, Porteous, Kamara; Louza, Choudhury; Sarr, Pedro, Martins; Assombalonga
We say: Burnley 2-0 Watford
Once again on home turf and with the visitors lacking any momentum, we can only envisage another dominant display from the Clarets on Tuesday, with Kompany's men seemingly cruising towards automatic promotion.
We fancy Burnley to continue their impressive form at both ends of the pitch and add three more points to their tally at Turf Moor.
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Sam Varley
