Premier League preview and odds: Burnley vs Swansea City

Premier League preview and odds: Burnley vs Swansea City

August 13 , 2016 15:00pm - Turf Moor

Premier League

Burnley`s first game back in the top flight will see them take on last season`s 12th-place finishers Swansea City at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.

Burnley rewarded for keeping faith in Sean Dyche

Following their relegation from the top flight 15 months ago, Burnley`s executives took the decision to stick with boss Sean Dyche to see if he could engineer an instant return to the elite level of English football. Their faith in the 45-year-old boss has been rewarded with a second promotion in three years. The challenge now will be to improve on the 33-point haul that they achieved on their last visit to the top tier, with survival the ultimate goal.

Last year`s campaign for promotion was aided by some shrewd moves in the transfer market including the controversial recruitment of Joey Barton and the signing of striker Andre Gray. Barton went on to become player of the season, while Gray bagged 23 goals as the club finished top of the Championship with 93 points.

Unfortunately, the club has since lost Barton, who moved to Rangers, and further reinforcements have been thin on the ground. As a result, they will be relying on an arguably weaker squad than the one that got them promoted, to keep them in the Premier League. However, the Clarets come into this game having won four and drawn two of their pre-season games, a feat that extended their current unbeaten run to 24 games.

Swansea had Italian coach Francesco Guidolin to thank for overseeing the reversal of form last year that kept them in the Premier League. In what appears to be a smart move, the club has retained the services of the former Udinese boss for another two seasons.

After offloading a large percentage of their existing strike force, the Welsh side have taken a gamble by bringing in an ageing Fernando Llorente from Sevilla and 23-year-old Borja Baston from Atletico Madrid. The Spanish duo will certainly give the Swans some height and power up front and both players have impressive goal-scoring records.

On a slightly more negative note, there is a strong possibility that captain Ashley Williams and midfielder Gyfli Sigurdsson could also be heading for the exit door before the weekend.

Team news

Ashley Barnes has a hamstring issue and is a doubt for the home side.

Meanwhile, centre-back Frederico Fernandez is out injured for the visitors.

Recent form (League)

Burnley: DWWWD

Swansea City: WWWWL

Betting odds and tips

Burnley are on a good run of form and haven`t been beaten since their January defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup. That should put them in confident mood as they open their campaign in front of their home crowd.

Despite offloading nine players, Swansea are also making some interesting signings and could have two talented Spaniards leading the line come Saturday.

Both sides will be happy to kick off the season with a point and the draw looks like a good bet.

You can back the stalemate at 11/5 with Bet365

By Neil Morris

Go To bet365

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09/08/2016     © Frixo 2024