Burnley vs Huddersfield Town. Premier League.
Turf MoorAttendance20,759.
Saturday 23 September 2017 13:46, UK
Nahki Wells will miss out on a reunion with his former club when Burnley host Huddersfield on Saturday.
Wells who has yet to make his Clarets debut, will not face the club he left on deadline day as he manages his comeback from ankle trouble, though manager Sean Dyche has revealed he is making good progress and is back training on grass.
The Clarets lost to Leeds on penalties in the Carabao Cup in midweek but though they have been beaten only once in their opening five Premier League fixtures, Dyche is still seeking more sharpness from his side in the final third.
"There's never the lack of will and demand here, to go all the way down the line" Dyche said. "The only gripe is the amount of opportunities we had [against Leeds], and not just the opportunities, the actual chances. I think that's where we're still shifting forward, working with the group, that final moment of real quality."
Huddersfield also spurned a string of chances in their cup defeat to Crystal Palace but boss David Wagner was in philosophical mood ahead of the trip to Turf Moor.
"I think we've shown our threat on the offensive so far," he said. "Yes, maybe we are not as clinical as we wish to be, but this is part of football. We created very good opportunities against Crystal Palace on Tuesday in the second half.
"We also created very good opportunities against Leicester at home as well. I have no concerns."
Burnley will be without injured Jon Walters (knee) as well as Wells.
Nick Pope is set to retain the gloves in the absence of Tom Heaton (shoulder), and Adam Legzdins is likely to continue on the bench ahead of new arrival Anders Lindegaard.
Huddersfield have a host of players ruled out through injury, with midfielder Danny Williams (fractured foot) joining Steve Mounie (foot) and fellow striker Collin Quaner (knee) on the sidelines.
Another striker, Laurent Depoitre, and winger Rajiv van La Parra are hoping to shake off muscle strains but on-loan Chelsea midfielder Kasey Palmer (hamstring) and defender Jon Gorenc Stankovic (knee) remain long-term absentees.
This will be the first top-flight meeting between these two clubs since March 1971 and the first in the top tier at Turf Moor between Burnley and Huddersfield since November 1970.
Huddersfield have won just three of their last 19 league meetings with Burnley (W3 D5 L11).
Burnley have conceded the first goal in 20 Premier League games since the start of 2016-17 and in those matches, they have only recouped three points (W0 D3 L17).
Seventy-five per cent of Burnley's Premier League points since August 2016 have come in matches at Turf Moor - 36 of 48.
Burnley have won the same number of Premier League home games as Manchester United (11) since August 2016 and only one fewer than Manchester City (12) in this period.
Robbie Brady has created seven goalscoring chances for Ben Mee this season in the Premier League; the most by one player to a team-mate in the competition.
Chris Wood has scored in 26 different league games since the start of 2016-17; no player in the top four tiers of English football has scored in more (level with Billy Sharp).
Wood has scored against Huddersfield Town in both of the last two seasons, for Leeds in the Championship - but both have been netted away from home.
Excluding own-goals, none of Huddersfield's first four Premier League goals have been from English players. Only four teams have had a longer wait for an English scorer in the Premier League - Stoke (none of first 17 goals from an Englishman), Wolves (9), Birmingham (6) and Hull (5).
No player has created as many goalscoring chances without assisting a goal in the Premier League since August 2016 than Burnley's Scott Arfield (35).
Burnley's defensive pair of Ben Mee (14) and James Tarkowski (12) have blocked the most opposition shots in the Premier League this season. Combined, they have blocked more shots (26) than every other team in the competition bar Leicester City (29).
It should be a really good game. Whichever team wins this match is set-up perfectly for the rest of the campaign.
I like the way Huddersfield play. I watched their game against Leicester and for the first half, the Foxes didn't know what day it was. The Terriers squeezed and hurried - they tired slightly after the break - but it was very impressive.
The only knock is they didn't turn up at West Ham and I think they could be a little Jekyll and Hyde away from home.
Burnley have that little bit more Premier League experience and they are very strong at Turf Moor.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (Sky Bet odds 15/2)
Burnley are Sky Bet's 11/10 favourites with Huddersfield priced at 29/10 while the draw is a 21/10 chance. Both sides have had their relegation odds lengthened following their impressive starts, with the Terriers out from odds-on favourites to 13/8 while their hosts are currently 9/4. Chris Wood is the 4/1 favourite in the first goalscorer betting with Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre both 13/2.
Burnley v Huddersfield is included in this weekend's Super 6 line-up, with £250,000 up for grabs again. Enter your predictions for free here.
