MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 23:59:55| >> :60:100:100:
[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
OT
Vikings
30-27
Bears
FT
Lions
24-6
Colts
FT
Patriots
15-34
Dolphins
FT
Buccaneers
30-7
Giants
FT
Chiefs
30-27
Panthers
FT
Titans
32-27
Texans
FT
Cowboys
34-26
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds1695228121632
2Sunderland1695226121432
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
4Burnley168621961330
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea165471414019
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


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!