Burnley vs. Leeds United Preview

Npower Championship 19/11/11 (k.o 12.45pm)

Football
Published: 12/12/2011

Despite a tough and resilient display to snatch all three points on their last outing away at Leicester City, Leeds United’s recent 0-5 home drubbing at the hands of Blackpool will still be fresh in the memory for the Whites and they will be intent on recording another success on the road at struggling Burnley in order to bounce back properly into the race for promotion.

As always, pressure and expectation on Simon Grayson’s men is mounting, not least from controversial Chairman Ken Bates who has stated already that his club should be higher up in the Npower Championship table.

A win for Leeds in this lunchtime clash would propel them back into the play-off berths and they could well stay there should they be able to rediscover their consistency and form over the coming weeks.

They are likely to start the match as slight favourites against a Burnley side who look a shadow of the battling Premier League outfit of two years ago.

Eddie Howe is now the main man at ‘The Turf’ however he is also feeling the pinch after a poor run of results which sees the Clarets languishing in 18th place in the league.

Their most recent outing at bottom club Bristol City was nothing short of a disaster and their comprehensive 3-1 defeat spoke volumes about the club’s fall from grace over the course of the last two seasons.

Like many clubs, including Leeds for that matter, Burnley have struggled to adapt to life in the Championship after suffering relegation from the top flight and have yet to establish a firm footing from which to build on.

If Leeds United turn up and replicate their impressive displays at the likes of Leicester and Doncaster, Burnley really could be in for a long 90 minutes.

Nevertheless, Turf Moor has never really been a profitable hunting ground for the 1991/1992 old first division winners and the Clarets faithful will do all they can to lift their ailing team.

With a notion of unpredictability about the result, there is no straightforward pointer from a betting perspective in terms of match betting. It would be no surprise to see either a home win, draw or away win however it would be a shock should there be a lack of goals between two teams who are amongst the leakiest defences in the division.

Over 2.5 goals looks a solid alternative to picking the match winner and could easily be paying out well before the game moves into its latter stages.

Burnley’s squad leaves little to be desired in regards to star names and quality, but Charlie Austin always has the ability to make his mark and change a game so backing him to score anytime also seems favourable – especially considering his decent goal scoring record against Leeds.

Leeds’s Ross McCormack has failed to hit the net for a few games now despite still being at the top of the scoring charts, so any first goalscorer bets on the Scot should really be avoided for now in favour of some value in the shape of the talented Adam Clayton and former Manchester United midfielder Danny Pugh.

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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (12/12/2011) but are subject to change.

12/12/2011     © Frixo 2024

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