Key events
Bournemouth manager Adoni Iraola spoke to Sky Sports: “It's difficult because there are fewer games left, every point is valuable and we want to win, especially after Man City (defeat) and Newcastle (draw), we played well but we didn't achieve much, we need the three points. We are in a good situation football-wise and we have players who perform well, but it is true that defensively we have not been good in recent games.
“Hopefully today we will have the opportunities and score the goals.”
Excellent interview with Henrik Larsson here, conducted by Michael Butler.
For Burnley, Josh Brownhill is suspended and midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson and forward Zeki Amdouni are on the bench. Enter Vitinho, Josh Cullen and Jacob Bruun Larsen. There are no changes for Bournemouth since their narrow defeat to Manchester City, meaning Dom Solanke is fit to start. He missed the midweek FA Cup defeat to Leicester.
The teams
Burnley: Trafford, Vitinho, O'Shea, Esteve, Taylor, Assignon, Berge, Cullen, Odobert, Fofana, Bruun Larsen. Substitutes: Cork Gudmundsson, Rodriguez, Benson, Ekdal, Amdouni, Ndayishimiye, Delcroix, Muric.
AFC Bournemouth: Neto, Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez, Christie, Cook, Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier, Solanke. Substitutes: Mepham, Faivre, Ouattara, Scott, Sinisterra, Unal, Billing, Travers, Kinsey-Wellings.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)
Preamble
It's fair to say that this is not one of the most important games in the Premier League, but it is an important game nonetheless. For Burnley in particular. Safety isn't out of reach yet, but lose to Bournemouth and, well, the gig seems pretty much over. Burnley have lost 10 of their 13 first division home games this season and this cannot be allowed to continue. Bournemouth are not exactly flourishing. Their previous season form has seen them do well, but they have only collected three points in 2024. The problem is that Burnley have accumulated less than that. They have had bad runs before under Andoni Iraola, the first leg win was their first league win and 10th attempt. It all adds up to a tense affair that could go either way.
Kick-off is at 1:00pm UK time. Join me.
