Burnley vs Bournemouth

Turf Moor sets the stage for a bottom-half Premier League encounter between rock-bottom Burnley and out-of-sorts Bournemouth.

Despite growing speculation over Vincent Kompany’s future at Turf Moor, the Belgian will be in the dugout when relegation-threatened Burnley return to home turf in pursuit of only their second home league win this season (W1, D2, L10). As the only side in Europe’s top-five leagues with ten home defeats to their name in 2023/24, the Clarets look destined for another fiasco. Yet, Burnley can draw confidence from only losing once in their last 14 home league matches against upcoming rivals Bournemouth (W7, D6). But a 2-1 defeat in October’s reverse fixture spells trouble for arguably the worst-performing team in England’s top flight. Optimism is a rare commodity in Lancashire, as the Premier League’s joint-sixth worst record after 26 games in history keeps them a whopping 11 points adrift of safety.

On the other hand, visiting Bournemouth fought valiantly yet lost 1-0 to perennial champions Manchester City at home last weekend, extending their winless run in the Premier League to seven games (D3, L4). The mood around the traveling camp worsened in midweek FA Cup action as second-tier Leicester City knocked them out of the fifth round after extra time. Despite experiencing their longest winless league streak since the opening nine rounds, the Cherries have history on their side, as they ended that previous run with a win against none other than Burnley. Andoni Iraola’s men will relish their chances at Turf Moor after failing to find the back of the net in just one of their 13 away league matches this season.