Burnley make the trip to Hull City on Saturday and, with memories of their recent Emirates FA Cup defeat to Lincoln City still raw, the Clarets will endeavour to find the perfect tonic – a first away win of the season.
Sean Dyche’s men slumped to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to the National League leaders last weekend, a result made all the more surprising given the clutch of regular first-team personnel named in Burnley’s starting XI.
But the trip to Humberside heralds a welcome return to league action, where the Clarets not only seek a third straight top-flight win at the KC Stadium but that elusive maiden victory on the road this campaign.
Previous meetings
Burnley have won 10 and lost just two of their past 13 meetings with the Tigers – both those defeats came against former Hull manager Steve Bruce, while both clubs were in the Championship.
Their last visit to Humberside yielded a hard-fought 1-0 win courtesy of Danny Ings’ second-half goal, but the win was bittersweet: Burnley were condemned to relegation that same day as results elsewhere transpired against them.
And Clarets supporters do not have to cast their minds too far back for their biggest win on Hull territory – in similar circumstances, with both sides fighting for survival, Burnley cruised to a 4-1 win with goals from Martin Paterson, Wade Elliott and Graham Alexander’s brace of penalties. Both sides ultimately went down, however.
Season stats
Hull manager Marco Silva must warn urge his players to make a more concerted effort at tackling inside the area, as the Tigers have given away more penalties (11) than any other side this season and, not only that, but the figure is a joint-record high with Blackburn Rovers from the 2006/07 campaign.
Penalties may become a theme of tomorrow’s fixture – if Hull continue to be as generous giving them, Burnley will be as equally gracious in taking them. Three of their five goals away from home have been from the spot, and all scored by different players: Sam Vokes, Andre Gray and Ashley Barnes.
An area in which both sides excel, however, is blocking shots. The four players who rank highest for the amount of efforts on goal that they have blocked are Curtis Davies (Hull), Michael Keane and Ben Mee (both Burnley) and Michael Dawson (Hull).
Team news
Sadly, however, Hull’s erstwhile pairing may not even feature on Saturday given their respective injury woes. Dawson is the likelier to play, but Davies joins fellow key player Abel Hernandez in the treatment room.
Burnley midfielder Steven Defour is nearing a return, but Johann Berg Gudmundsson will not feature at the KC Stadium. Jeff Hendrick is to serve the second of a three-game ban for his red card against Watford earlier this month.