The final match of the current round of Premier League fixtures sees two sides hovering dangerously close to the drop zone meeting as Burnley play host to Newcastle United at Turf Moor in the Monday Night Football.
After wins for Fulham and Huddersfield Town already this weekend this has become a pretty important match for both sides and it will be interesting to see if either embrace the game or if the situation of it clams them up a little.
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Burnley
It has not been the season that Burnley would have wanted at the outset of it and as a result they are under pressure in each match that they head in to. That is certainly the case here but if they can pick up a couple of successive positive results then that pressure will ease and we are likely to see more of the team we admired last season. They have barely changed personnel so their struggles must be a confidence issue rather than a technical one.
The Clarets have won just two matches all season but the big problem is they have not looked as hard to beat as we have become accustomed to and they could do with getting back to that sort of level. They are not a side who are going to score freely so they must find their defensive stability once again. With that in mind a clean sheet against Leicester last time out was welcome.
Newcastle United
It took a while for Newcastle’s first win to come along but then as is so often the case they waited for one victory and two came in succession. Those victories were both at home though so it will be interesting to see what they have got on the road. If they can win this match then the belief it will give them would do wonders for them moving forward for the remainder of the season.
Scoring goals has been a massive issue for the Magpies. They have only found nine of them in their 12 matches and if they are going to pull away from the danger zone that is a figure that could do with increasing fast. One reason why it is so low is the ultra-defensive tactics that have been employed at times but against the lesser sides Rafael Benitez will know he needs to go in search of three points.
Team News
Burnley are going to be without England international James Tarkowski for this match but they will have Steven Defour available after rumours about him being injured were not true. Johann Berg Gudmundsson is also fit to feature.
Newcastle will give fitness tests to Jamaal Lascelles, Jonjo Shelvey and Yoshinori Muto ahead of the game but they will definitely be without Paul Dummett. Salomon Rondon is fit to follow up his two goal burst against Bournemouth last time out.
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Betting
I’m not sure what to make of this match and I’m not going to smash into anything. I expect it to be a tight affair. Newcastle have already secured goalless draws at Southampton, Crystal Palace and Cardiff while Burnley are likely to want to build from a solid foundation at the back so I can see this one being a bit low scoring.
That is all reflected in the prices though so my only bet on this match is going to be a speculative shot at Newcastle ending it 1-0. I think of the two I’d be more comfortable with Newcastle keeping the clean sheet and with Tarkowski out of the way at the other end Newcastle can find some joy at some point in the evening even if it comes via a set piece. 7/1 will do for a bit of interest.
Tips
Back Newcastle to win 1-0 for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Bet365
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