Sitting 10th in the Premier League after promotion back in the summer, you would think Burnley will be brimming with confidence when arriving at the Emirates.
However, that could be no further than the truth for Sean Dyche’s men, who have relied on their form at home to keep them fighting for another season.
In actual fact, when on the road from Turf Moore, Burnley have picked up just one point nine games, giving them the worst away record in the league so far.
That hasn’t looked like changing in the last few weeks and a trip to Arsenal is one of the last places Dyche would’ve wanted to go and change things around.
Arsenal have the fifth best record at home in the league during this campaign, and have won their last four games in the Premier League this season, most recently being the 2-0 win on New Years Day.
Form Focus
On the face of it, Burnley aren’t a team that will settle for a point, and whether that attitude has helped or hindered them is a very big question mark asked by their supporters.
In their last 10 league games, Burnley have won just four and lost the rest, with their most recent success coming in the 1-0 victory over Southampton last weekend.
Other than Southampton, those other three wins came against sides that have recently jumped out of the Championship, so there’s been no real surprises in terms of underdog upsets.
That being said, Arsenal faced one of their toughest games on the road to Sunday’s visitors, and fought until the 90th minute to take all three points back from Lancashire.
And things haven’t changed, because Burnley aren’t afraid to put up a fight against the top dogs, with each of Spurs, Man City and West Ham only winning by one goal.
Top Goalscorer: Andre Gray (6)
He may not be in everyone’s fantasy league teams, but Andre Gray is the man this squad looks to when trying to bag the goals.
He’s a player with a cool head that isn’t afraid to take players on and try new things, something he’ll have to do because chances will come few and far between on Sunday.
Five of those goals have come in the Premier League, but he’ll have his work cut out against an Arsenal defence that are picking up confidence with every game they play.
Gray reminds me a bit of Diego Costa, he’s a handful and will look to bully players off the ball when he can, partnered with his speed means Arsenal should be careful if holding a high line.
Most Assists: Steven Defour (3)
Signed back in the summer, Defour is already making a huge impact at his new club and at £8million, Dean Dyche might have been hoping for a few more goals out of him.
The fact is that Defour is in the right place at the right time, and whilst he’s no massive threat running through the midfield, he does pose danger when whipping balls in.
If Burnley have done their homework, they’ll notice Cech’s confidence on the ball hasn’t been what it used to be, and Mustafi and Koscielny are just getting back into their stride.
Defour will have that at the back of his mind and neat balls floated into the right areas could provide some sort of a problem for the Gunners back-line.
Danger Man: Joey Barton
I know, I know, he’s hardly the man that will keep Wenger awake at night, but just remember what Barton can do to create moments that change games.
Not only can he ruffle a few feathers in the Arsenal defence, given half the chance at a set-piece and the outcome could effect how many points Burnley pick up from this.
He may well start on the bench this Sunday, but he’ll come on at a time where some Gunners legs might be tired and are prone to making silly errors.
Barton being Barton will be looking to exploit whatever he can, and after stating he narrowly missed out on a move to North London, might want to impress the home supporters!
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