Burnley v Leicester preview: Relegation rivals set for crunch clash at Turf Moor

Burnley host Leicester at Turf Moor in a crunch Premier League relegation clash with both sides’ top-flight futures hanging in the balance.

Both sides are still locked in the relegation zone but their fortunes in recent weeks have been polar opposite.

Sean Dyche’s men, who are two points behind Leicester, have dropped to the bottom of the pile after a run of four games without a win and with just five games remaining, time is running out.

Goals have been a huge problem for the Clarets and their poor run – Burnley have won just one of the last 12 - has coincided with a barren spell in front of goal for England U21 striker Danny Ings, who has now gone eight Premier League appearances without a goal.

Meanwhile, Leicester, who have a game in hand on some of their rivals, are firing on all cylinders and are targeting a fourth straight Premier League win when they travel to Turf Moor.

Nigel Pearson’s men, who are looking to keep back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since March 2004, have given their survival chances a real boost and could move out of the relegation zone with victory.

Team news

Burnley have no fresh injury concerns. Defender Steven Reid (calf) is back in contention and midfielder Ross Wallace (knee) has suffered no ill effects following his recent return to action.

The only notable absentees are long-term knee injury victims Dean Marney and Kevin Long.

David Nugent is a major doubt for Leicester. The striker suffered a calf injury in the warm-up ahead of last Saturday's 2-0 win over Swansea and boss Nigel Pearson rates him as "touch and go".

Marcin Wasilewski should be fit after coming off against the Swans with a dead leg, while Dean Hammond continued his recovery from a calf injury, playing over an hour in the U21s' 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Monday.

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Opta facts

Burnley are without a win in eight league meetings with Leicester City, drawing three and losing five.

David Nugent has scored in eight of his last 11 league appearances against his former side Burnley.

Leicester City were bottom of the table for 140 days before last weekend’s win over Swansea; no team has ever been bottom for that long in a single PL season and not been relegated.

Leicester have been leading at half-time in a league-low four PL games this season, while Burnley have found themselves losing on a league-high 16 occasions at the break.

Only Aston Villa (9.2%) have a worse chance conversion rate than Burnley (9.4%) in the Barclays Premier League this season.

Burnley have mustered just one goal in their last 10 hours and 39 minutes of Premier League football.

The Foxes have scored in the final five minutes in each of their last four Premier League games, with two of these goals being winners.

Merson's prediction

This is a massive game – and one Leicester can’t afford to lose. They’ve got themselves in an unbelievable position now, but it could all go pear-shaped this week.

For everything they’ve done, if they end up getting beat and QPR win, they’re bottom again. It's a dangerous position for them now. I’ve said it all along, but now everyone’s expecting Leicester to get out of it – the pressure wasn’t on before.

But I’m going to go for a draw. There’s not a lot between these teams. Saying that, Burnley have scored one goal in seven – that ain’t going to get you out of trouble.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)

Betting

Burnley are marginal 6/4 favourites with Sky Bet for their must-win clash with fellow relegation battlers Leicester City (7/4) at Turf Moor.

The Clarets are second favourites at 4/11 to be relegated after a second successive 1-0 defeat, while a hat-trick of wins has seen Leicester's odds on making the drop drift out to 15/8. The Foxes won the reverse fixture 2-0, a 12/1 shot this time, but have taken maximum points on their last three visits to Turf Moor and are 5/1 to extend that run with both teams scoring in the match.

Danny Ings is 9/4 to end his barren spell with a goal in a much-needed home win, while David Nugent is 2/1 to net against his former club.

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