BURNLEY PREVIEW

Sunderland travel to Burnley for our first away game of the season. This will be one of the most important games of the campaign, despite how early on it is. Two newly promoted sides playing each makes this an early relegation six-pointer. We come into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 win, our opponents a 3-0 defeat, so we’ll be keen to prove that wasn’t a one off game and Burnley will want to show that they do have the ability to get results at this level. Here’s some information on the Clarets:

LAST SEASON AND FORM

Last season Burnley might have counted themselves slightly unlucky to have not come away with the Championship title with a points haul of 100. They fell just short of the trophy, finishing in second place, due to Leeds United having a superior goal difference. In the League Cup they went out in the second round and in the FA Cup they made it to the fifth round. Opening weekend of the Premier League season brought a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, a brace for Richarlison and a goal from Brennan Johnson ensuring more pressure on Burnley to get some points on the board against the Lads.

THE MANAGER

44-year-old Scott Parker is the man in the dugout for the home side, he’s been in charge since July 2024. He enjoyed a very good 2024-25, both on a personal level and with the club, not only winning an automatic promotion but being named the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for April 2025 and the EFL Championship Manager of the Season. He’s also previously been in the hotseat at Fulham, AFC Bournemouth and Club Brugge. At Fulham he won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs and at Bournemouth he won automatic promotion from the Championship, whilst being named Manager of the Month twice: in September and October 2021. Parker also enjoyed a successful playing career as a midfielder. He put on the shirt for Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham and was capped for England 18 times and played for his country at UEFA Euro 2012. At Charlton, he won the First Division in 2000 and won both their Young Player of the Year (in 1999) and Player of the Year (in 2003) awards and was also named the PFA Young Player of the Year (in 2004) whilst at his first club. At Newcastle he won an Intertoto Cup and at West Ham he was Hammer of the Year three times (2009, 2010 and 2011), named Premier League Player of the Month once (February 2011) and named FWA Footballer of the Year once (2011). His spell at Tottenham Hotspur saw Parker be awarded with another PL Player of the Month Award (November 2011) and be part of the PFA Team of the Year (2012). Additionally, he was England Player of the Year in 2011.

KEY PLAYERS

Burnley’s current number one goalkeeper is Martin Dúbravka, the 36-year-old Slovakia international joined the club this summer from Newcastle. Their top scorer last season (out of players who haven’t left the club) was 27-year-old Dutch striker Zian Flemming, he scored 14 goals and was actually on loan from Millwall before joining the club permanently this transfer window. Their top playmaker was left winger Jaidon Anthony with seven assists. Centre back Maxim Estève was their most-involved player last term, appearing in 48 matches. Key arrivals this summer include, France U21 international Lesley Ugochukwu (defensive midfielder), Albania international Armando Broja (striker) and, another France U21 international, Loum Tchauona (right winger).

THE STADIUM

Turf Moor was one of the grounds we played at last season and the Lancashire stadium now ranks in the bottom three in terms of stadium size in its new league, hosting a maximum of 21,944 individuals. Burnley’s stadium has previously been the venue for an England game, but the first and only time this occurred was in 1927. In 1886, it was the first football ground ever to be visited by a member of the Royal Family, when Prince Albert Victor attended a friendly game, and in 1922 it hosted an FA Cup semi-final. The nearby Burnley Cricket Club (BB10 4BN) is a great place for a pre-match pint.

PREDICTION

As the week has gone on, and the high of winning our first Premier League match in 8 years has dissipated slightly, the realisation that this won’t be a walkover has set in. Burnley will have a point to prove after losing 3-0 to Spurs. If you look at how many shots they had against them, it doesn’t even look like they played particularly badly. I do think we’ll beat them but it will be a nervy affair. They’ll score first but we’ll have enough about us to win 2-1.