12/5Burnley (4-4-2): Arijanet Murić; Lorenz Assignon; Dara O'Shea; Maxime Estève; Vitinho; Josh Cullen; Sander Berge; Josh Brownhill; Jacob Bruun Larsen; Lyle Foster; Wilson Odobert;
Newcastle (4-3-3): Martin Dúbravka; Valentino Livramento; Emil Krafth; Dan Burn; Lewis Hall; Jacob Murphy; Bruno Guimarães; Sean Longstaff; Callum Wilson; Alexander Isak; Anthony Gordon;
From the role of doomed in the battle for survival, Burnley is now just two points away from salvaging seventeenth position. However, The Clarets’ schedule includes two games against teams battling for a place in Europe – Newcastle and Tottenham. However, the team closes the campaign with a home game at Nottingham, and therein lies the club’s best hope, of course, only if Forest still needs to secure its survival by then.
It has taken Vincent Kompany almost an entire season to start scoring in England’s elite. In eight rounds already, his team has lost only to Everton and away to opponents like West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester United. It was at “Old Trafford”, the last match for the team, in which a late penalty in the 88th minute brought a point to their record.
Newcastle achieved an emphatic 5-1 win at home against Sheffield United and is now just a point behind sixth-placed Manchester United. On May 15, there will be a match between Manchester United and Newcastle, which will probably decide both teams’ fate. Until then, however, Eddie Howe’s boys should not lose any points, and the prerequisite for that is good – since they gained thirteen points in the last six rounds.
We have seen a satisfactory number of goal spectacles this season in the English Premier League, but the first match (2-0) between today’s opponents at St. James’s Park was not one of them. I expect the second to be an exception to the high-scoring in England’s elite. Although Burnley needs to win, a point against such a strong opponent would be a good achievement. The Clarets have not conceded more than a goal in five games, and it is the improved defensive performances that are leading to their positive results. Newcastle, on the other hand, has reduced turnovers recently, and in three of the team’s last five games, less than 2.5 goals have been scored.