Burnleyvs.West Brom

The Clarets displayed their Premier League credentials in a 4-0 battering of Luton Town over the weekend, while the Baggies eked out a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers.

Match preview

Taking full advantage of Kal Naismith's early sending-off for two bookable offences, Burnley's unbeaten run in the Championship hit a marvellous 23 games on Saturday afternoon, as Scott Parker's merciless men hit Luton for four without reply.

Mark McGuinness's own goal kicked off the rout before Lyle Foster, Josh Brownhill and Ashley Barnes - netting his first Championship goal of the season - also got in on the act against the Hatters, who were deprived of "oxygen" according to a beaming Parker.

Proving that their 3-0 reverse to Preston North End in the FA Cup was a one-off, six points from six against Cardiff City and most recently Luton has the Clarets just two points behind Sheffield United and leaders Leeds United in the Championship table, albeit until the Whites face Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon.

Parker's men may not be as prolific on the attacking front as Leeds or Sheffield United, but shutting out Luton saw Burnley register a ridiculous 26th clean sheet from 36 Championship games this term, an astounding record that has apparently seen a Premier League Big Six club take an interest in number one James Trafford.

Seven of those shut-outs have been registered in Burnley's last seven Championship matches at Turf Moor, where they are incredibly yet to concede a league goal in 2025, and the Clarets remain the only team in the division with their unbeaten home record still intact.

As Burnley capitalised on their opponents' indiscipline over the weekend, West Brom survived their own indiscretions against QPR, who played the entire second half with a numerical advantage following Darnell Furlong's red card for violent conduct.

Tony Mowbray's men were already a goal to the good at that point thanks to Adam Armstrong's penalty, though, and they held out for the second 45 with 10 men to earn just a fourth win from 12 in all competitions, and a highly creditable one at that.

Thanks to Bristol City only managing to glean a point from their contest with Hull City, West Brom have opened up a two-point lead over the Robins in the playoff race as they lie in sixth place in the table, just one point adrift of Coventry City with a superior goal difference.

The green shoots of recovery are starting to appear for West Brom if a four-game unbeaten run is anything to go by, but their away record still makes for incredibly grim reading, as they have failed to win any of their last 11 on the road since defeating Hull in November.

Not since February 2000 have West Brom endured a longer away winless run outside the Premier League, and even though the Baggies came away from November's clash with Burnley with a 0-0 draw to their name, they are now without a win in six against their steadfast hosts.

Burnley Championship form:

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Burnley form (all competitions):

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West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

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Team News

No Burnley players sustained any fresh fitness woes over the weekend, meaning that Parker should only be missing Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Mike Tresor (unspecified) for the visit of the Baggies.

Parker made just the two alterations to his starting lineup against Luton, where Josh Laurent and Foster were preferred to Hannibal and Zian Flemming, both of whom were unused substitutes on Saturday.

The pair may come back into the manager's thinking with games still coming thick and fast, but Parker was able to make a spate of early changes against Luton with his side in the ascendancy and will largely stick with that winning formula here.

On West Brom's side, Mowbray has confirmed that his side intend to appeal the "really harsh" red card brandished to Furlong in the win over QPR, but for the time being, the Baggies defender is set to begin a three-match suspension.

Furlong's punishment complicates defensive matters for Mowbray given that Semi Ajayi is currently sidelined with a hamstring problem, so Mason Holgate should be drafted into the backline on Tuesday evening.

Jed Wallace (leg) and Josh Maja (calf) are also on the absentee list for the Baggies, while Jayson Molumby is on nine yellow cards and will incur a two-match ban if he enters the referee's book at Turf Moor.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires; Brownhill, Cullen; Edwards, Hannibal, Anthony; Foster

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Wildsmith; Holgate, Bartley, Heggem, Styles; Mowatt, Molumby; Fellows, Swift, Johnston; Armstrong

We say: Burnley 2-0 West Bromwich Albion

Burnley's exemplary home sequence compared to West Brom's horrendous streak of form on the road is chalk and cheese, and those respective records should be reflected in the final scoreline.

Written by

Ben Knapton

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