A depleted weekend of Premier League football begins with a basement battle at Turf Moor on Friday evening, as Burnley play host to fellow newly-promoted side Luton Town.
Both teams have some FA Cup wrongs to right this week, as the Clarets bowed out of the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, while the Hatters were taken to a replay by Bolton Wanderers.
Match preview
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After ending 2023 with a valiant effort against Aston Villa - albeit without any points to show for it - Burnley gave another Champions League contender a good run for their money in the FA Cup, where Tottenham were initially powerless against Vincent Kompany's staunch backline.
A Turf Moor rematch was seemingly on the cards, but with 78 minutes on the clock, Tottenham right-back Pedro Porro fired an outrageous long-range strike into the top corner to send Burnley packing in the third round, condemning Kompany's men to a third successive loss in the process.
Having overseen a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham back in September, Kompany unsurprisingly hailed last weekend's endeavours as a "clear sign of improvement" from his charges, who now have nothing but Premier League duties to focus on between now and the end of the campaign.
No matter what transpires over a shortened gameweek of Premier League football, Burnley will remain below the dotted line in 19th place, as upcoming foes Luton are four points better off while basement side Sheffield United - who are only two points adrift of the Clarets - have a weekend off.
Since the 5-0 dismantling of the Blades in December, though, Burnley have returned to losing ways at Turf Moor with back-to-back 2-0 losses to Everton and Liverpool, and they could now match an unwanted record of losing 10 of their opening 11 home games in a single season; only the 1970-71 Newport County crop have suffered the same fate in English Football League history.
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While Burnley's FA Cup adventure ended prematurely, Luton will live to fight another day in the prestigious tournament, but there was a palpable sense of disappointment as Rob Edwards's men were stunted at home to League One high-flyers Bolton Wanderers.
Despite enjoying 63% possession and firing 18 shots on goal, the Hatters could not find a way through the gritty Trotters backline, whom they may very well come up against in Championship action next season should they fail to regain momentum in the fight for survival.
Before next Tuesday's replay at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, Luton can clamber out of the Premier League drop zone with a third win from four top-flight games this weekend, having earned back-to-back successes over Newcastle United and Sheffield United before coming out on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller with Chelsea.
Only one point separates the Hatters from 17th-placed Everton - who have played a game more than Edwards's crop - but Luton are still searching for their first Premier League away clean sheet and have few fond memories of recent meetings with their upcoming hosts.
Indeed, Burnley have strung together a seven-game unbeaten streak against Luton - beating the Hatters 2-1 at Kenilworth Road in October - but they have curiously failed to win any of their last seven home matches with Friday's visitors, who have not been put to the sword at Turf Moor since 1995.
Team News
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Two new injury concerns reared their ugly heads for Burnley in the FA Cup defeat to Tottenham, as Lyle Foster was withdrawn at half time due to an ankle problem, while Charlie Taylor came off midway through the second half with a shoulder concern.
Kompany is optimistic that Foster did not sustain a serious problem, while Taylor's shoulder issue has been described as "chronic", so either Connor Roberts or Ameen Al-Dakhil should be on hand to deputise if need be this weekend.
Long-term absentee Luca Koleosho (knee) is definitely out of contention for the hosts, although Hjalmar Ekdal (knee) and Jordan Beyer (thigh) could both recover from their afflictions in time for the crunch bottom-of-the-table battle, where Sander Berge will also return from suspension.
As for Edwards's Luton, right-back Issa Kabore - who was an unused substitute against Bolton - has jetted off to represent Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations, while captain Tom Lockyer continues his recovery from his distressing cardiac arrest.
None of Marvelous Nakamba (knee), Reece Burke (thigh) or Dan Potts (thigh) should be given the green light to play this weekend, and the Hatters also lost Carlton Morris to a calf concern against Bolton, although Edwards is hopeful that the striker was just cramping up.
While Morris should therefore be available for the trip to Turf Moor, recalls for Jacob Brown and Andros Townsend should be in order, although the former was absent from the FA Cup squad entirely.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Vitinho, O'Shea, Beyer, Roberts; Tresor, Berge, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni, Rodriguez
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Osho, Mengi, Bell; Doughty, Barkley, Lokonga, Giles; Townsend, Adebayo, Brown
We say: Burnley 1-1 Luton Town
Premier League matches between newly-promoted sides this season have averaged a whopping 4.3 goals per game, although if both sides' FA Cup showings are anything to go by, attacking sparks may not fly at Turf Moor.
While we have faith in Burnley to avoid matching the unwanted home losing record, it is difficult to back Kompany's goal-shy troops to prevail with any real conviction, and a Luton side who have shown plenty of fight in recent top-flight fixtures can certainly hope for a point on Friday.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
