Away Day to Burnley! Preview by Simon Mack

Burnley vs Leicester City

Sunday 19^th January 2020 2pm

Turf Moor

On the back of the revenge taken by Southampton last weekend the foxes head north for a Premier League clash against 15^th placed Burnley.

The clarets were defeated in the season’s previous league encounter at King Power Stadium in an emotional match in which both sets of fans commemorated the anniversary of the tragic passing of Leicester City Chairman Khun Vichai. Youri Tielemans scored the winner on the afternoon and ex fox Chris Wood was denied a late point earning goal by the wonder that is VAR.

Since that match the foxes have gone on a blistering run of form until recently whilst Burnley haven’t faired quite so well recently losing their last four matches on the trot with a 3-0 loss most recently at Stamford Bridge preceded by two home defeats to Aston Villa and Manchester United. The clarets sit 3 points clear of the relegation zone going into this one and will be without the services of striker Ashley Barnes with a groin problem that now requires and operation. Icelandic wide man Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson is out with hamstring trouble whilst former Leicester forward Chris Wood has broken his nose and is also a doubt. Irishman Robbie Brady is 50-50 as he fights to be fit from a calf injury and the clarets other significant attacking threat Jay Rodriguez is currently unwell and it’s not known if he’ll be well enough to feature.

With Burnley struggling to find men within their ranks to form an attack clarets skipper Ben Mee has been quick to tell the media that his side “Need to get a bit of confidence back.” The defender went on “We’ve been here before and know what it’s about.” But will the city side that travels north be the same positive and ruthless force that has gained them so many admirers until recently this season?

For the foxes the defensive midfield wizard that is Wilfred Ndidi will be missing for the next few weeks having had an operation on his knee and his omission from the city side last weekend was clearly a huge hole in both the foxes defensive duties and the genesis of their creative forward drive. Hamza Choudhury showed what he was capable of in Wifred’s absence during the second half of the cup semi-final against Aston Villa however against the saints last weekend he was much less effective and foxes boss Brendan Rodgers will have a dilemma on his hands going into Sunday’s clash as to whether to persist with the young city academy product.

Wes Morgan remains unavailable with groin issues and Daniel Amartey largely lost amongst the bright lights of 2019/20 has headed back for the operating table. Another city squad member lost to the annuals of time in the shape of Matty James seems to be slowly building himself up using the U23’s as a sharpening ground. For the physio’s table that completes my report however there are others not reporting for treatment but at the same time looked jaded during the shock upset at home last Saturday. James Maddison was not at his very best and limped during the latter part of the defeat whilst Youri Tielemans was rested for the game and only featured during the last 15 minutes. Concern has been shown by foxes fans too for the form of young wide man Harvey Barnes and his left sided partner Ben Chilwell. Both have been in and out of form all season with rumours that Chilwell could be bound for London to sign for Chelsea in a big money deal. Whether heads have been turned or confidence has been lost is left to the speculation of fans in pubs and hacks with laptops and intent but whatever the motive or cause it is clear that many Leicester City supporters would like to see both Christian Fuchs or James Justin given a chance in place of Chilwell and the ever passionate and popular Marc Albrighton given a start in the place of Barnes.

Will Rodgers rotate again? It’s hard to tell but what we do know is that the festive period saw a lot of chopping and changing from the Northern Irishman and it could be alleged that some of the persistent changes whilst done for the right reasons have in fact lead to a loss of momentum for the foxes in their quest for Champions League football.

Whatever the reason or cause this Sunday’s match affords a great opportunity for city to get their league campaign back on track against an opposition depleted in attacking options and drained of confidence after four league defeats on the bounce.

Possible City starting line-up: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Soyunchu, Fuchs, Praet, Tielemans, Perez, Maddison, Albrighton, Vardy