As it happened: Burnley 3-2 Aston Villa

Lasting thoughts from me. It was a battle of contrasting style that only looked to be going one way after 45 minutes. However, a remarkable effort from Burnley, and their goalkeeper, was enough to turn the tide on an excellent Aston Villa team. 

Dean Smith will wonder how his side didn't win the game, but Sean Dyche will be delighted at the way his team found their goal-scoring touch. 

Aston Villa: Martinez 6; Cash 7, Konsa 5, Mings 5, Targett 7; Luiz 6, McGinn 7; Traore 7, Barkley 7, Grealish 8; Watkins 8.

Subs: Trezeguet n/a, El Ghazi n/a, Davis n/a.

Burnley: Pope 9, Lowton 7, Tarkowski 6, Mee 7, Pieters 8; Brady 5, Westwood 7, Brownhill 5, McNeil 8; Rodriguez 5, Wood 8.

Subs: Cork 7, Gudmundsson 6, Vydra 6.

And that's a wrap! What a valiant performance from Burnley! Fight, grit and determination. They rode their luck throughout the match but Pope was a wall between the sticks, and Burnley made the most out of their chances. 

90+4: Only Leeds and Southampton have hit three or more goals against Villa this season. Burnley are in elite company! 

90+3: Pope is taking his time on his goal-kick. Time running out for Villa.

90+1: We're into the first of four added minutes. Burnley have lost the ball from the corner but Villa lose it as well. Gudmundsson's first thought is to go to the corner but he also gets tackled. 

90: McNeil powers past Cash but the right-back gets back well to block his cross. Corner for Burnley. They won't be in a hurry!

89: Burnley trying to waste time in the corner flag, much to the frustration of Targett. Wood does well to win his team a throw-in. 

88: Davis on for Luiz. Villa's final change and it's a striker for a defensive-midfielder. 

88: Villa are trying to probe but Burnley are holding firm. The hosts love to sit on a lead. 

86: A bit of miscommunication in the Burnley defence almost lets in Grealish. Fortunately for them, Pope eventually moved off his line to clear the ball. 

84: Grealish aimlessly floats a cross out of play. He'll be wondering quite how it's gone so wrong so quickly!

83: Traore and Barkley are off. Trezeguet and El Ghazi are on. Double change for Villa. 

79: A brilliant goal from Wood. McNeil whips in a delicious cross and Wood does incredibly well to anchor a headed effort into the far corner, via the post. Where has that come from!? 

77: Burnley have pulled this game from the jaws of defeat, not once, but twice! Villa will be again kicking themselves. That being said, the nature of that second Burnley goal was quite bizarre. 

76: Pieters powers forward and passes the ball to McNeil, before following on in the box. McNeil's low delivery deceives everyone, including Martinez, and rolls into the far corner. A bizarre equaliser from the Clarets!

75: Third change for Burnley. Vydra for Rodriguez. 

74: Watkins latches onto a loose ball on the edge of the box but his strike is well held by Pope. 

73: Rodriguez tries his luck from 50-yards and it's a long way wide. He hasn't had much service tonight. 

70: It's the first time that Burnley have conceded more than once since that fearful afternoon against Manchester City. Villa have been brilliant, even if Burnley have come into the match in the second period. 

69: The main-man has found the net and he deserves it. He plays a neat one-two with Luiz before sliding in to slot the ball home. Pope didn't even move. You can't say it hasn't been deserved. 

64: Big save from Martinez! Pieters surged into the final-third and his drag-back falls kindly for Wood, but his shot is brilliantly parried by the Villa goalkeeper. 

64: Grealish goes on an incredible surging run but, after bursting into the box, Pope stayed tall and made an excellent stop. 

61: McGinn's lofted pass is almost on the wavelength of Grealish, but Pope is quickly off his line and he clears the ball with his head. 

60: Second Burnley change. Gudmundsson on for Brady. 

58: Burnley are slowly coming back into this. The goal from Mee has helped boost their confidence. They are attacking with more determination and they are pressing Villa more readily. 

55: Cork has added a bit of determinism to the midfield. Villa sloppily gave the ball away to Brady but the Irishman lacked penetration with his movements. Lowton's later cross was wayward. 

54: Traore shifted inside but his strike was weak and Pope easily gathered. 

53: Smith looks on furiously. He will wonder how his side are not three goals clear. Wasteful finishing or brilliant Burnley blocking? A bit of both, perhaps. It's back to square one for the visitors. 

51: Wood does really well to win a corner off Mings. Westwood swings the corner over and Mee powers a header across Martinez and into the corner. Smash and grab! 

49: McGinn's aggressive strike from outside the area is straight at Pope. Like a number of the shots, the keeper will be rather happy with that!

48: Wood cutting a frustrated figure. He and Rodriguez have had virtually nothing to feed upon. It's a tough old job in the Burnley attack. 

46: We're back underway! Brownhill has gone off for Burnley. Cork is on. 

Have Burnley played badly? It's tough to tell. Villa have been electric. Burnley can't keep the ball. Men against boys. 

 

 

Burnley haven't been outplayed like that since the reverse match at Villa Park! The visitors have been scintillating. 3-0 wouldn't flatter Villa. A combination of Pope and some good defensive blocks have kept the hosts in the match. 

45: Traore won a free-kick, just outside the box, but he fired it well over the bar. Great work initially. Terrible end product. 

44: Grealish slotted Targett in behind and the left-back's fierce shot was well kept out by Pope. 

41: Grealish squared the ball to Traore and his shot was well blocked by Mee. The ball broke to Watkins who forced Pope into antother oustanding save, this time at his near post.

40: Big let off for Burnley! Watkins latches onto a brilliant through ball from McGinn but Pope makes an excellent sprawling save to deny the striker. The ball breaks to Barkley and his volleyed effort crashes off the bar! 

39: Wood chases a hopeful ball and forces Konsa into a panicked clearance. It's good chasing from Wood. Burnley haven't had much joy in this half, aside from in the opening few minutes. 

36: Paul Tierney is getting a few sarcastic comments from Dyche, with regards to the amount of free-kicks that Villa are getting. 

34: Barkley's corner lands perfectly for Cash, just inside the box, but the right-back misses his kick. 

33: Progressive football is paying off for Villa. Burnley are chasing shadows. It's not too dissimilar to the reverse fixture at Villa Park. The only difference? Villa have a goal. 

30: Grealish rolled the ball to Traore after some more excellent build-up play, all the way from the back, but the winger narrowly bends his effort wide of the post. 

28: Grealish sweetly catches a bouncing ball but his rasping drive is straight into the hands of Pope.

27: Brownhill tried to work an opening but Konsa was alive to it to block the effort. 

22: Tarkowski booked for a late challenge on Watkins. 

20: Burnley look a little rattled after going behind. Sean Dyche's men aren't particularly great at coming back into matches. A lot of character needed now. But they have 70 minutes to try and get back into it! 

17: Villa ripping the Burnley defence open all over, Grealish feeds Traore and Pope makes a super save. Grealish was offside in the build-up, so it wouldn't have counted, but that is sublime football from the visitors. 

14: WATKINS WITH THE STRIKE. Grealish worked the ball to Targett, whose early cross was deftly flicked into the far corner. Great movement and finish from Watkins. 

13: Grealish played Watkins in behind but the striker's shot was tame and Pope easily gathered it. 

8: Brady crashes the ball after Rodriguez's flick but both were offside in the build up. 

7: Burnley looking to pressure Villa and Westwood slips in Wood, only for play to be brought back for a foul on Ross Barkley. 

5: Martinez did well to hold Pieters' looping cross. Good hands from the Villa stopper. 

3: From the corner, Konsa heads over. Half-chance for the defender. 

3: Burnley started brightly, trying to take the game to Villa with some direct crosses into the box. Just now, though, Grealish broke and fizzed a nice ball into the box that was cleared by Mee. Busy start from both teams.

1: And we're off! 

We are gearing up to the kick-off. Be sure to stick with VAVEL, and me, for the latest updates on this clash! 

He has struggled for goals, at times, but Watkins did find the net against Newcastle. Aside from goals, Watkins is a willing runner and he is proving himself as a talented performer on the biggest stage. The next step will be to register 10+ goals in the top division. 

He is Villa's talisman and he was the Man of the Match in this reverse fixture. But he couldn't register a goal or an assist. Grealish will be determined to right those wrongs. 

Burnley and Aston Villa have a combined total of 16 clean sheets. 

Villa, with 9, have the second most in the division. Burnley, on 7, are joint-fourth. 

Shields! 

 

 

 

 

The Scot is Villa's underrated gem in the middle of the pitch. Nippy, tenacious, and technically very gifted. He adds craft to the double-pivot that he operates in. 

Rodriguez scored twice in Burnley's 3-0 win over Fulham. The striker fully merits his inclusion in the starting eleven. He is back in for the injured Barnes. One wonders whether he would have made it into the team if the man who got the winner at Anfield was available to play.

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Brady, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil; Rodriguez, Wood.

Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Cork, Gudmundsson, Stephens, Bardsley, Vydra, Long, Dunne, Benson.

 

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, McGinn; Traore, Barkley, Grealish; Watkins.

Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Trezeguet, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Engels, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey.

McGinn returns from his suspesion for Villa, replacing Nakamba in the line-up after Villa's 2-0 victory over Newcastle.

One change from Anfield for Burnley as Rodriguez comes in for Barnes. 

The match will be broadcasted live on BT Sport 2 from 17.30. 

You can also listen to the match on talkSPORT. 

If you want to follow the match on text commentary then simply stay right here, with VAVEL! 

Burnley’s win at Anfield was remarkable but this will be a tougher match in many ways. It’s at home and the expectation will be to win. Of course, Aston Villa are this season’s surprise package and they show no signs of slowing down. But for a lack of final-third efficiency, they could be challenging for a top-four spot. 

Prediction: 0-0

“It was a performance I expected from him. A lot was made out of the week he has had but he was in court for two driving offences, nothing more nothing less and he handled it as I expected him to, with aplomb.

“Jack’s performances are what we are accustomed to. We had to make changes and with the way Burnley play we had to be good defensively.”

"Robbie Brady had a knock, so we'll see how that is - they are the main two.

"Josh Brownhill has got a little knock, Johann is okay, which is good, he came through.

"We made a couple of changes at the end as well, to protect them, because we had a nice cushion of three goals, so hopefully everybody will be close to a full selection for the Villa game."

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Mee, Tarkowski, Pieters; McNeil, Brownhill, Westwood, Brady; Wood, Barnes.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Luiz; Traore, Barkley, Grealish; Watkins.

The Clarets have no fresh injury woes and will be well-rested after Dyche made changes to the side that faced Fulham. 

Charlie Taylor is the only one likely to miss the game and is unlikely to be rushed back after his time out due to injury. 

Despite impressing, Marvellous Nkakamba is likely to be sidelined as John McGinn returns from suspension.

Kourtney Hause and Wesley are both still out with long term injuries and will miss this clash.

[Words of the preview from Samuel Collins]

The visitors travel to Lancashire with two 2-0 scorelines in their last two games with one being a loss to Manchester City and the other a win over Newcastle United. 

[Words of the preview from Samuel Collins]

Burnley host Aston Villa at Turf Moor this week and will be looking to continue a recent good run of form.

Sean Dyche's men come into this fixture off the back of a 1-0 away win over Liverpool in the Premier League and a 3-0 win away at Fulham in the FA Cup.

[Words of the preview from Samuel Collins]

Welcome to VAVEL UK's LIVE coverage of the 2020/21 Premier League match Burnley vs Aston Villa!

I'm your host, Jonny Bentley, and I look forward to guiding you through this claret and blue derby!