Burnley vs Crystal Palace preview, predictions and possible XIs
Crystal Palace travel to Burnley this weekend in what will be their first game outside London since the end of August.
Turf Moor has been something of a fortress this season, but Palace return having won convincingly there last season.
Burnley find themselves seventh after two consecutive wins, recovering from a blip in their form. They are yet to win three in a row this season, but will view this as an opportunity against a faltering Palace side.
To be fair to the Eagles, their past five opponents have all been fifth or higher at the time of kick-off. A nightmarish run of fixtures is finally over with just one point to show from it, despite some promising performances.
Read on for our Burnley vs Crystal Palace preview, predictions, team news and TV coverage information.
When is Burnley vs Crystal Palace and where can I watch live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Turf Moor
Date: Saturday, 30 November 2019
Kick-off: 3:00 PM (UK time)
TV coverage (UK): N/A
Last five meetings: Burnley vs Crystal Palace
02 March 2019: Burnley 1-3 Crystal Palace (Premier League)
01 December 2018: Crystal Palace 2-0 Burnley (Premier League)
13 January 2018: Crystal Palace 1-0 Burnley (Premier League)
10 September 2017: Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace (Premier League)
29 April 2017: Crystal Palace 0-2 Burnley (Premier League)
Aggregate Score: Burnley (LLLWW) 4-6 Crystal Palace (WWWLL)
Ones to watch
Burnley: Ashley Barnes
Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood are one of the last remaining, old-fashioned strike partnerships. They’ve scored 12 goals between them this season already – six each – and will relish the battle with James Tomkins on Saturday.
Barnes formerly played for Palace’s rivals Brighton – hitting the crossbar in the play-off semi-final defeat to the Eagles – and seems to love facing them.
Key stat: Barnes has scored in two of his four home Premier League appearances against Palace.
Crystal Palace: Andros Townsend
Townsend has been in and out of the team this season – and was actually on the bench the last time these two sides met – but was excellent last weekend against Liverpool.
In the game between these two sides last season at Selhurst Park, Townsend scored a screamer and his performance against the league leaders would suggest he still has that in his locker.
Key stat: Townsend completed four dribbles against Liverpool – no player on the pitch completed more.
Team news
Burnley
Ashley Westwood is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, so Danny Drinkwater could come in to make his Premier League debut in midfield.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson remains out, while Barnes and Wood will certainly continue their strike partnership.
Predicted XI: Pope; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Lennon, Hendrick, Cork, McNeil; Barnes, Wood.
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Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson will be ruing Palace’s transfer window after Joel Ward’s injury means they have no specialist right-backs in their squad.
Martin Kelly will be forced to play there, meaning Mamadou Sakho may be forced to make a swift return to replace Gary Cahill, who is a doubt with a knee problem.
Predicted XI: Guaita; Kelly, Tomkins, Sakho, van Aanholt; Milivojevic, Kouyate, McArthur; Townsend, Ayew, Zaha.
Squawka prediction
Despite these two teams having a fairly defensive reputation, there always seems to be goals in this fixture. The pair haven’t drawn in seven games, meaning we should see a winner. Burnley are good at home, Palace are good on the road. It could go either way.
Scoreline prediction: Burnley 1-2 Crystal Palace
