Preview: Burnley vs. Fleetwood Town - prediction, team news, lineups

At a time when the Clarets are already on the brink of an immediate return to the Premier League, Fleetwood are 11th in League One after their own strong run of form.

Match preview

When Burnley travelled to Bournemouth in the third round of this competition, Vincent Kompany would have had ambitions to win, yet privately feel that an early exit would only boost their promotion bid.

However, despite reaching the last 16, the Clarets have extended their lead at the top of the Championship to 12 points and sit 19 points clear in the race for automatic promotion.

Kompany and his squad will now sense an opportunity to go as far as possible, the Belgian having the leeway to rotate as he pleases over the coming weeks and months.

Saturday's 4-0 victory over Huddersfield Town extended their league run to just two defeats in 34 second-tier contests this season, while they have now scored exactly two goals per match.

Nevertheless, Ipswich Town held them to a stalemate in their initial fourth-round tie before losing narrowly in a replay, something which will only encourage Fleetwood.

For the most part this season, Scott Brown's first campaign at Fleetwood has been one of consolidation with the club realistically being content with survival to a mid-table finish.

More recently, though, Fleetwood have gone six matches unbeaten in all competitions, a run which has included 13 points and four clean sheets coming from five League One fixtures.

Fleetwood have gone nine halves of football without conceding a goal, helping them move 11 points clear of the relegation zone, and they can now place more focus on this tie.

Brown's side have already pulled off two shocks in this competition, first edging out Queens Park Rangers before posting a 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in a replay after initially drawing at Hillsborough.

Burnley FA Cup form:

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Burnley form (all competitions):

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Fleetwood Town FA Cup form:

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Fleetwood Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

Kompany will likely rotate a number of his Burnley players, while Ian Maatsen will play no part after sustaining a shoulder injury at the weekend.

Charlie Taylor, Vitinho, Jack Cork, Scott Twine and Lyle Foster can all expect to be provided with opportunities in the team.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Benson Manuel, Jay Rodriguez and Darko Churlinov will all remain on the sidelines.

With Jayden Stockley cup-tied, Brown will have to make a change in the Fleetwood attack, potentially leading to Promise Omochere coming back into the team.

Barring any fitness issues, the Scot may opt to stick with the remainder of the side which started versus Morecambe.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Peacock-Farrell; Vitinho, Ekdal, Beyer, Taylor; Cullen, Cork; Tella, Twine, Zaroury; Foster

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Holgate, Nsiala, Sarpong-Wiredu; Rooney, Vela, Warrington, Macadam, Patterson; Gomes, Omochere

We say: Burnley 3-0 Fleetwood Town

With more changes expected from Burnley than Fleetwood, the outsiders have reason to believe that they can pull off what would be a considerable upset. However, such is the confidence within the Clarets camp that they will expect to beat most opposition in front of them, leading us to predict a dominant win.

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