As the Clarets look forward to a historic appearance in Europe, we look ahead at what to expect from the Burnley 2018/2019 Season. Other than my predicted Premier League finish of 14th, here are 5 things to look out for:
Burnley in the Europa League
The Clarets are in Europe! Having drawn 1-1 against Aberdeen in their first ever Europa League appearance, they’re set to advance in the home fixture. There are no real expectations to advance, though the management insists they want to make the most of the opportunity.
Personally, I expect Burnley to make it through to the group stages. After that, who knows. It will just be fantastic to see them compete and get European experience.
"It looks to be more serious, rather than not serious."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 26, 2018
Sean Dyche says Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope has been taken to hospital with a shoulder injury suffered against Aberdeen: https://t.co/vrIHDVBYYk pic.twitter.com/DGt4099WOi
Clean Sheets
With Nick Pope suffering a “serious” shoulder injury, it looks likely that when Tom Heaton returns from his calf injury, he will be back as No.1 for an extended period. Heaton himself was standby goalkeeper for the England squad this summer. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Nick Pope only got a chance because of a similar injury to Tom Heaton last season. This isn’t like an understudy/backup keeper coming in, this is a second first-teamer competing to be No.1.
It also isn’t all about the keepers. Ben Mee and James Tarkowski were fantastic last season, alongside Matt Lawton and Stephen Ward who also had seriously impressive seasons. It follows that they’re going to have a similarly effective season defensively this time around, with no major disruptions to the line-up or system.
Early Domestic Cup Exits
With the Europa League and Premier League being such high priorities, you can expect to see a heavily weakened team when the FA Cup or Carabao Cup comes around. Burnley just doesn’t have the squad to play every single fixture to the maximum, so expect the domestic cups to be sacrificed to reduce fixtures.
Fortress Turf Moor
For the past two seasons, Burnley has had a great home record. It’s not just down to home support. The dimensions of the pitch are different to most other Premier League clubs. Burnley have a short, narrow pitch which helps them with a more direct approach, whilst making it difficult for teams who play expansive football, as there simply isn’t a lot of room to expand into.
Expect a lot of upsets against teams who enjoy possession.
The Fanzone at Turf Moor tonight 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/bOKNC9KzBR
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) July 26, 2018
Fatigue
This was the smallest squad in the Premier League for the past two seasons. Now they’re faced with the Europa League, which if they progress to the group stages, means at least 10 extra games to what they would ordinarily have to face.
The fitness team will be making the most of their ice baths and recovery bikes and praying for no more injuries. This could be a long season, and I hope Burnley have secured Premier League safety a few games before the end of the season because I expect them to tire in the run in.