Ashley Westwood has been the rock for Burnley in midfield this season.
His presence in the middle of the park is missed whenever he doesn’t feature for the side and Burnley will need him to help continue their winning ways after their recent victory against Newcastle United.
Helping out the front two
Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes have been key to the Clarets but it’s Westwood’s work that goes unnoticed at times for Burnley.
His tackles are crucial to breaking up play and allowing the midfield to gather the ball and push forward.
His most recent contribution was in their last game when he whipped in a wonderful corner-kick to hand Wood an easy header at the back post.
The former Aston Villa man’s delivery has seemed to improve from last season and he is adding goals and assists to his game.
When they lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace, they missed him dearly and whenever he plays Burnley’s chances of picking up maximum points increases.
Jack Cork and Jeff Hendrick will surely appreciate the work he does in midfield to give them time on the ball and that has been a key tactical area for Burnley to work in.
Defensive work
Westwood sure is effective. According to the official Premier League website, the centre-midfielder has a tackle success rate of 69% with 301 tackles made.
He has made 299 interceptions with 1,152 recoveries which shows just how crucial he is in the heart of midfield.
Here is what Sean Dyche had to say about Westwood prior to the Newcastle game.
Quoted from the Lancashire Telegraph, Dyche emphasised the impact that Westwood and midfield partner Cork have on the team.
“I think the strength those two have is doing the hard yards, to make sure others combine to help us win the game.
“They played their part in that as well, but they will do the miles, all the ugly things it takes for us to win games because we haven’t always got the technical talent of other sides.
“We have to find a way of winning and do it as regularly as we can to get what we want.”