Burnley will host Blackpool on Saturday in the fifth round of league fixtures in the new season, hoping to end a three-game winless run with kickoff at 5 pm.
Vincent Kompany’s new management immediately returned to the Premier League by beating Huddersfield Town 1-0 away from home, thanks to Ian Maatsen’s goal. They were then only able to take a point from a 1-1 draw at home to Luton Town before falling to a first defeat of the season as Tom Cleverley hit the only goal of the game in their trip to fellow relegated outfit, Watford.
Hoping to bounce back from that loss, Kompany’s men hosted Hull City on Tuesday, and they went behind for the third game in a row, as Ozan Tufan opened the scoring for the visitors in the 25th minute.
The Tangerines also had a managerial change over the summer, as Michael Appleton replaced promotion-winning manager Neil Critchley. They made a winning start in the curtain-raiser as Callum Connolly hit the only goal in a 1-0 home victory over Reading.
They couldn’t build on that with a second win straight away, though, losing 2-0 away at Stoke City in their next encounter before dropping out of the EFL Cup following a penalty shootout defeat to Barrow.
Burnley vs Blackpool Head to Head
Both sides have eleven games against each other, with the hosts taking seven wins while the visitors with three wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Burnley 1-1 Hull City
- Watford 1-0 Burnley
- Burnley 1-1 Luton Town
- Huddersfield Town 0-1 Burnley
Away
- QPR 0-1 Blackpool
- Blackpool 0-1 Swansea
- Blackpool 0-0 Barrow
- Stoke City 2-0 Blackpool
Burnley Team News
Burnley has several injuries, including Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Ashley Westwood. Jay Rodriguez will probably be preferred to Ashley Barnes again after scoring against Hull, while Dara Costelloe and Nathan Tella are pushing for starts in the wings following Vitinho’s inclusion last time out.
Blackpool Team News
Appleton has plenty of enforced absences to deal with, like Charlie Patino, Keshi Anderson, Kevin Stewart, and Jake Beesley are all sidelined alongside star forward Gary Madine. Without Madine and Beesley, there is an opportunity for Theo Corbeanu or Shayne Lavery to start on the left-hand side alongside Jerry Yates or Josh Bowler.
Prediction and Odds
Burnley and Blackpool both come into this fixture in good form, but we still expect the hosts to claim victory.
- Home Win
- Both Teams to Score
- Most Goals: 2H
