Having both failed to win a single fixture in February, Burnley and Bournemouth bid to get their March runs off to a flying start in Premier League clash at Turf Moor. Vincent Kompany’s men suffered a second-half capitulation in a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace last weekend, while the Cherries were dumped out of the FA Cup by Leicester City in extra time in midweek.
Kompany’s men have conceded an alarming 11 goals during their last 270 minutes of top-flight football and are only being kept off the foot of the table by Sheffield United’s inferior goal difference, sitting 19th in the standings with an 11-point gap to make up to Nottingham Forest in 17th.
Thankfully for a battered and bruised Burnley, upcoming foes Bournemouth have also seen their previous golden touch elude them, as after securing eight wins from 11 games between November 11 and January 25, Andoni Iraola’s men are now without a victory in six.
However, four of Bournemouth’s last five top-flight games on the road have seen the Cherries concede multiple goals, but thanks to October’s 2-1 win over Burnley at the Vitality Stadium, the visitors could now complete a league double over the Clarets for the very first time.
Bournemouth had few problems carving out opportunities in their cup clash with Leicester – putting them away was the issue for Iraola’s troops – but the potential return of Solanke should provide the Cherries with the touch of ruthlessness which they missed in midweek.
A Burnley side bereft of confidence and prone to poor attacking displays at home could therefore see their winless streak stretch into the double figures, as Bournemouth ease any renewed relegation fears with a narrow success to put another nail in the Clarets’ coffin.
