MX23RW : Thursday, November 14 20:10:39| >> :600:91522:91522:
[monks data]
Attendance: 19,561
Burnley logo
Premier League | Gameweek 21
Jan 1, 2020 at 12.30pm UK
 
Aston Villa logo

1-2

Wood (80')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Wesley (27'), Grealish (41')

Sean Dyche sympathises with Dean Smith as pressure grows

Sean Dyche sympathises with Dean Smith as pressure grows
© Reuters
Burnley go into the match six points ahead of their opponents.

Sean Dyche has challenged his Burnley players to build on their second-half display against Manchester United when they take on struggling Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The Clarets were beaten 2-0 at Turf Moor at the weekend but caused problems for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in the second half and were pushing for a point until Marcus Rashford added United's second deep into injury time.

It was a second successive defeat for Burnley following on from a 1-0 loss at Everton on Boxing Day, before which had come narrow victories over Newcastle and Bournemouth.

Victory over Villa, who have lost five of their last six Premier League games, including against 10-man Watford at the weekend, would widen Burnley's lead over the Midlanders to nine points and give them a bit of breathing space ahead of a tough run of fixtures.

Dyche said: "I think it's important for us to perform. I've always said, the table at the end of the season is the one I'm interested in. The performance level has got to stay where it was second half (against United).

"We've ground wins out (against Newcastle and Bournemouth). The second half (against United) I think we tried forge a win and plan a win, and I think that was better. We've got to do that going forwards, of course."

Villa's only league victory in the last six came against Norwich, and those teams occupy two of the bottom three positions while fellow promoted side Sheffield United are flying high in the top 10.

Questions have begun to be asked about manager Dean Smith's future, and they could well intensify if Villa maintain a record of not having won a league match at Turf Moor since 1936.

Dyche can empathise, saying: "It's so difficult. You spend money, you don't spend money. They've spent a fortune, it's kind of worked in spells and then it hasn't.

"(Sheffield United boss) Chris Wilder has spent OK money and it has worked, but by sticking more or less to what he does and what the team does. Norwich have spent a bit less money and were trying to rely on what they did (last season).

"We've been through it and we still go through it, every season's a new challenge for us. It is difficult to find the right balance of the freshness and maybe the experience you need to support your team and improve it, but then maybe not take away too much of what got you there in the first place."

Dyche could make changes, with fit-again winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson and forward Jay Rodriguez at the front of the queue after their positive impact as substitutes on Saturday.

The Burnley boss does not believe he will need to take the hectic festive fixture list into account, though, saying: "They're professional footballers, get some food down you, crack on. It's the job, isn't it?

"If you're Liverpool, they've got it tough. But, for us, generally, it's week to week to week. You have this little spell – two (games) in three (days) is tough but we've got a few days' recovery so I'll be expecting them to be physically right."

ID:384631: cacheID:384631:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4978:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring for Manchester City on December 29, 2019
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - De Bruyne, Rashford, Deeney
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!