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 Sunday's 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.
Match preview
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As the Oliver Glasner reign at Crystal Palace kicked off in perfect fashion last weekend, speculation over Kompany's future in the Burnley dugout began to heat up, as the Clarets were condemned to a comprehensive three-goal defeat at Selhurst Park.
The newly-promoted outfit - who had Josh Brownhill sent off in the first half - held out for over an hour on the Eagles' turf, but an 11-minute flurry in the second half saw all of Chris Richards, Jordan Ayew and Jean-Philippe Mateta breach the Burnley net, subjecting the Clarets to their third successive league loss.
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.
While an immediate return to the Championship seems inevitable, the Burnley powers-that-be apparently have no plans to give Kompany the boot before the end of the season, and the Manchester City legend now seeks to repay that faith by ending his team's nine-game streak without victory.
That will be easier said than done at a ground where Burnley have amassed just five Premier League points in 2023-24 - the worst home record in the entire division - and an 11th Turf Moor defeat on Sunday would see the Clarets set an unwanted club record for their most home losses in a single league season.
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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.
The Cherries endured 120 minutes of goalmouth frustration against Leicester in Tuesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie, where they let several chances go begging in the absence of leading marksman Dominic Solanke and succumbed to an exquisite extra-time winner from Foxes winger Abdul Fatawu.
As Leicester marched on to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, Bournemouth were left to dissect an incredibly wasteful display, and such a lack of ruthlessness also prevented them from stealing a point off of Manchester City in a 1-0 home loss to the Premier League champions last weekend.
Iraola's 14th-placed troops are at risk of being dragged back into the demotion scrap, but they possess a healthy eight-point lead over the drop zone with a game in hand on several teams around them and head to Turf Moor having scored in each of their last nine Premier League away matches.
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.
Team News
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On account of his red card for a last-man foul on Jefferson Lerma, Brownhill - who was not helped by James Trafford's bizarre decision to play the ball to his under-pressure teammate - will serve a one-match ban for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Brownhill is one of five definite absentees for the Clarets, who cannot call upon long-term injury victims Luca Koleosho (knee), Lyle Foster (surgery), Aaron Ramsey (knee) and Nathan Redmond (thigh), while Jordan Beyer remains out with his thigh issue.
With Brownhill banned, Josh Cullen should get the nod over the long-serving Jack Cork to join Sander Berge in the Clarets' engine room, but Kompany may see fit to stick with his other 10 starters from the loss to Palace.
Regarding Bournemouth, Solanke watched on helplessly from the stands against Leicester due to a knee problem, and his deputy - Getafe loanee Enes Unal - only lasted until half time in that cup fixture owing to a shoulder injury.
Iraola confirmed on Friday that Unal had avoided a serious issue and was present in team training, but Solanke's knee injury - which he has been managing since December - had not quite settled down, and a late call will have to be made on their top scorer's fitness.
Antoine Semenyo should spearhead the attack if neither Solanke nor Unal are given the all-clear, while Tyler Adams (thigh), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Lloyd Kelly (groin), James Hill (ankle) and Max Aarons (thigh) are definitely absent.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Assignon, O'Shea, Esteve, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Berge, Cullen, Odobert; Amdouni, Datro Fofana
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Tavernier, Billing, Sinisterra; Unal
We say: Burnley 0-1 Bournemouth
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.
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Ben Knapton
