After encouraging displays at Hull City, Swansea City and Liverpool, Burnley will want to turn valiant performances into precious points when they travel to Sunderland on Saturday.

This weekend’s trip to the Stadium of Light is the final of four consecutive away games for the Clarets, and their 1-1 draw at the KC Stadium is the only point they have yielded from this run – and just their second of the season on the road.

And now Sean Dyche’s side have a realistic opportunity to double that tally with a win against the struggling Mackems, who sit bottom of the Premier League table.

Previous encounters

Saturday’s meeting will be the fourth game between the two this season, and Burnley’s record across those previous three meetings makes for encouraging reading: won two, drawn one, scored six and conceded just one.

The most memorable of those games came on New Year’s Day, when Burnley dismantled Sunderland with the help of Andre Gray’s hat-trick. Less than a month later, the same fixture in the Emirates FA Cup brought the same outcome – another Burnley win and another Gray goal, who added to Sam Vokes’ opener.

But on their last two Premier League trips to Stadium of Light, David Moyes’ men have fared the better of the two sides, with two wins and two clean sheets. Given their current plight, the chances of a repeat are slim but Sunderland at least have a remote psychological gain heading into the game.

Statistics

If the Wearsiders are to survive this season, they will have Jermain Defoe to thank for his goal-scoring contribution to the cause. His quality for Sunderland is such that he has scored in every month of football since January 2016, but goals have thus far eluded him in March 2017.

Yet the 34-year-old – who was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad on Thursday – has two goals in his last two meetings with the Clarets, including a consolation goal in their 4-1 defeat on December 31.

Burnley, meanwhile, have the worst ever record in March for a Premier League side, having won one and drawn one of 10 games in the month. That win came against then-reigning champions Manchester City in 2015, and the Clarets will want to address that ominous record on Saturday.

Team news

Sunderland’s squad is beset with long-term injury absentees, including stalwarts such as Lee Cattermole and Jan Kirchoff. Victor Anichebe is definitely ruled out, but Darron Gibson and Steven Pienaar are rated as touch and go.

Burnley are nearing a clear bill of health, with Dean Marney and Kevin Long the only players with major injuries. Steven Defour faces a late fitness test following a hamstring injury, but Johann Berg Gudmundsson is out until April.

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