Burnley Aim To Quell Relegation Fears At Southampton

Burnley will escape the relegation zone tomorrow should they be able to take down the Europa League seeking Southampton. The Clarets currently occupy the final position in the dreaded drop zone but could usurp both Sunderland and Aston Villa should they beat the Saints away from home and that pair fail to pick up a point against West Ham and Swansea respectively. Should Sean Dyche`s men fail to scoop the win, they could drop into 19th place, with a victory for Sunderland opening up the gap to four points.

It is also paramount for Southampton to secure the win at home tomorrow with them being sat outside the European places. Ronald Koeman`s side are currently four points off fifth placed Liverpool but could close the gap on themselves and the top five clubs to a point with the Reds playing third placed Manchester United on Sunday. Failure to see off Burnley would mean that Southampton would move below Tottenham, all but ending their hopes of a top five finish.

The two sides have met just once already this season, that being back in December in the reverse fixture at Turf Moor. The home club ran out the slight winners here, the Clarets scoring just one goal to seal all three points over the Hampshire club. That goal came from Ashley Barnes, he hitting the back of the net in the 73rd minute of the match.

Dyche`s side can be backed at odds of 22/1 with Coral to win by a goal to nil once again with betway`s 8/5 saying that the two teams will be separated by a single goal once again. Whilst Barnes is a 6/1 chance with paddy Power to add to his tally at any time, he can be backed at 16/1 at the same establishment to provide the opening goal once again.

Indeed, Burnley are the outsiders for the match despite their previous dominance over the top five contenders. The Clarets are available for selection at the best price of 15/2. That price can be found at both bet365 and betfair. The favourites, then, are a 1/2 chance (Numerous) to secure the victory by any means whilst a draw is on offer at 7/2, again at a number of bookmakers.

The North West club will be playing a side who have lost all confidence at home, having picked up just seven points in their last five Premier League games at St Mary`s. Furthermore, they have failed to hit the back of the net in three of these matches, scoring just three goals in total. As a result the Saints are available at 5/4 (Coral) to score less than 1.5 goals against the Clarets.

The club`s leading scorer at home in these five matches is Sadio Mane who has bagged two in these games, the first in a 2-0 win against Arsenal and the second in their 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. The Senegalese player claimed the deadlock breaker on both occasions and can be picked up at a price of 51/10 (888sport, unibet) to provide yet another opener.

In line with their relegation slog, Burnley have just picked up two points away from home in their last five Premier League games though have proved themselves capable of springing a surprise after a 1-1 draw at league leaders Chelsea away from home. Indeed, despite such a shocking record on their travels, Dyche`s men have managed to score five goals, three of these coming in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle.

Burnley have not kept a clean sheet on the road in the league since their goalless draw with Crystal Palace back in September. The 18th placed side are available at 14/1 (Coral) to win to nil whilst a goalless draw is on offer at 10/1 at most bookmakers.

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20/03/2015     © Frixo 2024