With construction works continuing at Luton’s Kenilworth Road in order to ensure that the Hatters’ ground is up to Premier League standard, Burnley enjoyed a rare weekend off in August, and the Clarets will pay a visit to their fellow Championship promotees later on down the line.
While 18 other Premier League teams pitted their wits against one another last weekend, Burnley boss Vincent Kompany was busy reflecting on the Clarets’ harsh welcome back to life in the big time, as the Belgian’s old employers Manchester City strolled past his current team on August 11.
The apprentice was no match for Pep Guardiola’s mastery on the opening day of the Premier League campaign, as Erling Haaland netted twice before Champions League final hero Rodri got in on the act in the second half, while Anass Zaroury’s red card rubbed salt into the wounds.
Few conclusions should be drawn from the hosts’ opening loss to the English and European champions, while their 18th-placed standing in the Premier League table is also virtually meaningless with 37 games left to play, and the Clarets have added a few new faces to their ranks since being trounced by the champions.
An opening EFL Cup clash with Nottingham Forest is sandwiched in between Sunday’s game and an impending trip to Tottenham Hotspur for the Championship winners, who will no doubt possess the underdog tag for Sunday’s battle of the clarets
From suffering a four-goal defeat on the opening weekend to posting an emphatic 4-0 win only a week later, Aston Villa bounced back from their Newcastle United humiliation in exemplary fashion during the visit of Everton last weekend, as John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran contributed to an emphatic triumph.
That thumping was a sign of things to come for Unai Emery’s men, who have virtually guaranteed themselves of a place in the group stage of the Europa Conference League, putting five unanswered goals past Hibernian in the first leg of their playoff tie at Easter Road
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The Lions made light work of their Scottish counterparts thanks to a 48-minute hat-trick from a red-hot Ollie Watkins, while Bailey and Luiz also found the back of the net for the second game running, and the result of that tie is surely a foregone conclusion ahead of next week’s second leg.
Now returning to domestic duty, Villa endeavour to snap a slightly worrying streak of away form, which has seen Emery’s side fail to win any of their last five Premier League matches on the road, conceding at least one goal each time and only notching three at the correct end of the field.
The visitors’ recent results against Burnley are also mixed to say the least, as they have only amassed two wins from their last eight meetings with the Clarets – also drawing four times and losing twice in that sequence – but they have only suffered one defeat at Turf Moor in the Premier League era.
