Newcastle United travel to Turf Moor where they will face Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday lunchtime, with the fight for top-flight survival approaching crunch point.
The Clarets won 1-0 in their last home league game against the visitors, but the Magpies recorded a 3-1 victory at St James's Park in the reverse fixture earlier this campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
Burnley still have work to do if they are to ensure their Premier League status for a fifth successive season after they lost 3-2 away at Southampton last weekend.
The Clarets raced into a two-goal lead after just 28 minutes when a converted penalty from Chris Wood was followed by a sweet strike from Matej Vydra, but Sean Dyche's side were unable to hold onto their lead and conceded twice before half time.
Nathan Redmond's strike in the 66th minute proved to be the winner and leaves Burnley in 15th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone with eight matches left to play.
Burnley head into Sunday's match winless in their last six Premier League games at Turf Moor, drawing their last five in succession – they have not drawn six consecutive home league matches since April 1936 in the second tier.
The Clarets have struggled to score goals throughout this campaign – with only basement club Sheffield United scoring fewer – but since Dyche has started both Wood and Vydra up front together, Burnley have found the net in each of their last four matches, scoring six goals with five of those strikes coming from either forward.
The attacking duo will be looking to take advantage of the Magpies weakened defence on Sunday, and a victory could see Dyche's team climb as high as 13th in the table, 10 points clear of the bottom three and easing any potential fears of demotion to the Championship.
© Reuters
Since December 16, a run of just two wins from their last 19 Premier League matches has plunged Newcastle deep into relegation trouble.
Manager Steve Bruce insists that team spirit remains strong in and around the camp, after seeing his side fight back to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Joelinton's first goal since November was quickly cancelled out with a brace from Harry Kane, but Arsenal loanee Joe Willock smashed the ball into the back of the net five minutes from time to earn the Magpies their fourth draw in five matches.
Newcastle briefly dropped into the bottom three when Fulham took the lead at Aston Villa, but they now sit three points above the Cottagers in 18th place, who have played two games more.
The Magpies have picked up 29 points from 30 Premier League games this season – one worrying statistic is that on three of the last four occasions they have accumulated this many points or fewer at this stage of a top-flight campaign, they were eventually relegated, dropping down to the Championship in 2015-16, 2008-09 and 1988-89.
Newcastle face a challenging run of fixtures after their encounter with Burnley as their next five matches are against teams currently in the top seven. With this in mind, claiming three points at Turf Moor could be vital if they are to avoid the drop this season.
- D
- L
- D
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Burnley remain without striker Ashley Barnes due to a thigh problem, while Robbie Brady (Achilles) and Kevin Long (calf) are also unavailable for selection due to injury.
Left-back Erik Pieters could continue his run in the starting lineup ahead of Charlie Taylor after recovering from a knock, which forced him off before half time against Southampton.
Right-back Phil Bardsley will also be back in the Burnley squad after a family bereavement forced him to miss the last nine league games.
New Zealand international Wood, who has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances, is set to lead the line once again alongside Vydra, who scored his second top-flight goal of the season against the Saints last weekend.
Newcastle boss Bruce has admitted he has a "big decision" to make this weekend as he considers unleashing top scorer Callum Wilson. The striker, who has 10 goals this season, tore a hamstring against Southampton on February 6 but has been back in training this week and is available for the trip to Turf Moor.
The Magpies still have a few injury concerns and another player that has been added to the list is captain Jamaal Lascelles, who could be ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot against Tottenham.
Republic of Ireland international Ciaran Clark is likely to deputise for Lascelles, although Federico Fernandez could also feature after recovering from a calf problem.
Defender Fabian Schar remains unavailable with a knee problem, while winger Ryan Fraser is likely to miss out once again with a groin injury.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil; Vydra, Wood
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Manquillo, Fernandez, Clark, Lewis; Shelvey, Longstaff; Saint-Maximin, Willock, Almiron; Wilson
We say: Burnley 2-1 Newcastle United
No Premier League team has been in worse form than Newcastle since mid-December and with difficult fixtures on the horizon, a victory at Turf Moor would provide a huge boost in their quest to survive.
Having already beaten the Clarets earlier this season, the Magpies can take some confidence into Sunday's match.
Burnley's loss at Southampton last weekend will have frustrated Dyche, but he will be confident that his side can bounce back and display their resilience on home soil once again.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Oliver Thomas
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 38.25%. A win for Newcastle United had a probability of 33% and a draw had a probability of 28.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Burnley win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.82%) and 2-0 (7.32%). The likeliest Newcastle United win was 0-1 (11.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.32%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
