Burnley are heading into their fifth successive season of Premier League football as they look to further establish themselves as a recognised top-flight team.
The Clarets have had mixed fortunes over the past four seasons, bouncing from 16th to seventh to 15th to 10th, but having been immediately relegated on their previous tastes of Premier League football, even those lower finishes should be regarded as good achievements.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at Sean Dyche's side ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
How did they fare last season?
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Very well.
Burnley flew under the radar to a certain extent, but finished the Premier League campaign 10th in the table, level on points with a Sheffield United side that earned lots of plaudits, and only two points off Arsenal.
The Clarets lost just one game in a run of 15 before a final-day defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, having lost 12 of their previous 22 outings before that.
Only once since 1974 have Burnley recorded a higher league finish, and it was a five-place and 14-point improvement on their 2018-19 campaign despite actually scoring fewer goals.
The high point was arguably a first win at Old Trafford since 1962 in January - a result which came just a couple of weeks after they had lost at home to Aston Villa and then been well beaten by Chelsea to leave them only three points above the relegation zone at that stage.
Biggest improvement needed
More goals throughout the team.
Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez both had impressive goalscoring seasons last term, while Ashley Barnes would have scored more than the six he managed had it not been for injury, but Burnley's next highest scorer had only three to his name and he has now left the club.
In total, only Norwich City had fewer different scorers than Burnley's 11 in 2019-20, and 33 of their 43 goals came from forwards so more is needed from the midfield in particular.
Manager: Sean Dyche
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The longest-serving manager in the Premier League and the third-longest serving manager in the English Football League, Sean Dyche is approaching his eight-year anniversary at Turf Moor.
Speculation over his future did begin to surface towards the end of last season - one of the first times that has happened since their promotion to the Premier League - but Dyche remained in charge and if anything the team's performances improved during that period of slight uncertainty.
The no-nonsense 49-year-old has won promotion twice as Burnley boss and has now established the club as Premier League regulars, reaching as high as seventh in the table.
Key player: Ben Mee
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A number of Burnley's defenders could be highlighted as the team's key player - no-one in the Premier League made more clearances than James Tarkowski last season, while only Ederson kept more clean sheets than Nick Pope, for example.
However, captain Ben Mee continues to lead by example at the heart of the defence and his partnership with the in-demand Tarkowski is the bedrock for Burnley's success.
Plenty of others contribute greatly to the cause as well, though, and Chris Wood also deserves a mention after scoring 14 times last season.
Summer transfer business
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In
Will Norris (undisclosed, Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Dale Stephens (£1m, Brighton & Hove Albion)
Anthony Gomez Mancini (loan, Angers)
Richard Nartey (free, unattached)
Out
Joe Hart (free, Tottenham Hotspur)
Jeff Hendrick (free, Newcastle United)
Adam Legzdins (released)
Aaron Lennon (released)
Ryan Cooney (loan, Morecambe)
Adam Phillips (loan, Morecambe)
Ben Gibson (loan, Norwich City)
Scott Wilson (free, Barrow)
Aiden O'Neill (free, Melbourne City)
Rhys Fenlon (free, Accrington Stanley)
Burnley total spent to date: £1m
Burnley total received to date: £0
Burnley net transfer balance: -£1m
Squad
1. Nick Pope (GK)
2. Matthew Lowton (DF)
3. Charlie Taylor (DF)
4. Jack Cork (MF)
5. James Tarkowski (DF)
6. Ben Mee (DF)
7. Johann Berg Gudmundsson (MF)
8. Josh Brownhill (MF)
9. Chris Wood (FW)
10. Ashley Barnes (FW)
11. Dwight McNeil (MF)
12. Robbie Brady (MF)
15. Bailey Peacock-Farrell (GK)
18. Ashley Westwood (MF)
19. Jay Rodriguez (FW)
23. Erik Pieters (DF)
25. Will Norris (GK)
26. Phil Bardsley (DF)
27. Matej Vydra (FW)
28. Kevin Long (DF)
34. Jimmy Dunne (DF)
Possible starting XI
Fixture list
Burnley's opening fixture of the season has been postponed due to scheduled opponents Manchester United having ended last term later than the rest, which means that they will have to wait until September 19 - away to Leicester City - to get their campaign underway.
The Clarets will welcome Southampton to Turf Moor in their first home game before Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea visit in succession in their next two matches at home after that - pending the Man United rescheduling.
Burnley then start 2021 at home to Fulham and end the season away to Sheffield United.
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SEPTEMBER
12: Man Utd (h) POSTPONED
19: Leicester (a)
26: Southampton (h)
OCTOBER
3: Newcastle (a)
17: West Brom (a)
24: Tottenham (h)
31: Chelsea (h)
NOVEMBER
7: Brighton (a)
21: Crystal Palace (h)
28: Man City (a)
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DECEMBER
5: Everton (h)
12: Arsenal (a)
15: Aston Villa (a)
19: Wolves (h)
26: Leeds (a)
28: Sheffield United (h)
JANUARY
2: Fulham (h)
13: Liverpool (a)
16: West Ham (a)
26: Aston Villa (h)
30: Chelsea (a)
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FEBRUARY
2: Man City (h)
6: Brighton (h)
13: Crystal Palace (a)
20: West Brom (h)
27: Tottenham (a)
MARCH
6: Arsenal (h)
13: Everton (a)
20: Leicester (h)
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APRIL
3: Southampton (a)
10: Newcastle (h)
17: Man Utd (a)
24: Wolves (a)
MAY
1: West Ham (h)
8: Fulham (a)
11: Leeds (h)
15: Liverpool (h)
23: Sheffield United (a)
Prediction: 15th
Burnley fans may be a little worried despite their top-half finish last season; an already small squad has been hit by a number of notable names leaving on free transfers, and not much in the way of reinforcements.
The Clarets have not brought in a single outfield player so far - back-up goalkeeper Will Norris is the only arrival at the time of writing - and that is sure to have frustrated Dyche, who has made no secret of his demand for more depth in his squad in order to kick on, even leading to speculation over his future last term.
Add to that the fact that the likes of Mee, Barnes and Cork look set to miss the start of the season through injury and Burnley could be in for a campaign in which they will be more concerned with avoiding relegation than securing a top-half finish.
Barney Corkhill
