Match Preview
Burnley vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 24 at Turf Moor
Wednesday 17th February 2021 KO: 18:00
Referee:
Jonathan Moss (West Yorkshire)
Live on Sky Sports
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A six-pointer near the foot of the Premier League table takes place on Wednesday at Turf Moor as 18th-placed Fulham do battle with 16th-placed Burnley.
Both teams picked up vital victories in the fight to avoid the drop at the weekend, with Fulham winning 2-0 at Everton and Burnley overcoming Crystal Palace 3-0.
Josh Maja just has not been able to hack it at Bordeaux, but the striker has taken no time at all to get his Fulham career up and running with both goals in Sunday's impressive 2-0 win at Everton.
The triumph at Goodison Park marked the first time that Scott Parker had witnessed his side pick up all three points in the Premier League since November 30 - a run of 12 matches without a win in the top flight - but there is no question that the Cottagers have started to look more solid at the back over the past couple of months.
With only one defeat from their last five Premier League matches - with three clean sheets to boot in that run - Fulham are giving themselves a fighting chance of staying up, but an eight-point chasm currently separates them from safety, with multiple failures to convert draws into wins contributing to their position in the bottom three.
Nevertheless, Parker's men make the trip to Burnley with the knowledge that they are yet to taste defeat on the road in any competition since the turn of the year - winning two and drawing four - and 12 of the 19 top-flight goals that Fulham boast this season have come on unfamiliar territory.
However, Burnley have enjoyed an astonishing success rate in this fixture down the years, as Fulham are winless in 30 trips to Turf Moor (25 losses and five draws) since their last victory on the Clarets' turf back in April 1951, and Dyche's men crushed the capital outfit 3-0 in the FA Cup last month.
Sean Dyche was quick to credit his FA Cup rotation for Saturday's dominant showing at Crystal Palace, who continue to struggle for results in the absence of key man Wilfried Zaha.
The Clarets were dumped out of the cup in midweek by Championship side Bournemouth, but Dyche welcomed a plethora of first-teamers back to the fold for the trip to Selhurst Park, and it certainly paid off Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Jay Rodriguez and Matthew Lowton propelled Burnley to victory.
Burnley are now eight points clear of the dreaded bottom three after a marked improvement in results since the start of December, and as the team with the fewest goals conceded in the bottom half of the table (29), Dyche will now aim to build on the mere 17 that his side have amassed at the correct end of the pitch, as only Sheffield United (15) have struck fewer times so far.
Burnley would move 11 points above their 18th-placed opponents with a first home win of the month, but Fulham are not exactly short of confidence either and will be desperate to boost their own survival prospects when they make the journey to Turf Moor in midweek.
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Burnley are unbeaten in the past 30 home meetings in all competitions, winning 25 and drawing five - it's their longest run against a single opponent. They last lost this fixture in April 1951.
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Only against Liverpool (also 30 between 1934-2011) have Fulham gone as many matches without an away win against an opponent in all competitions.
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The Clarets beat the Cottagers 3-0 at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup fourth round last month.
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Fulham are looking to win consecutive Premier League games for the first time since April 2019 and back-to-back away games for the first time in the top-flight since August 2013.
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They are unbeaten in all six league matches this season against other teams currently in the bottom six of the table.
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The Cottagers have won only one of their 18 Premier League away fixtures played on a Wednesday, a 1-0 victory at Derby County in January 2002.
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Scott Parker's side are looking to equal their top-flight club record of going six successive away fixtures unbeaten.
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Only Everton and Brighton have won a greater share of their points this season in away games than the 61% Fulham have (11 of 18 points).
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The three goals Burnley scored in beating Crystal Palace on Saturday make up 18% of their league goals this season.
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Their tally of 17 league goals this campaign is the lowest by any club in the top four tiers of English football.
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There have been just 22 goals at Turf Moor this season, the lowest of any top-flight ground. Craven Cottage is second with 24.
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They have won just one of their last seven league matches against promoted sides. The Clarets have failed to score in either such game this season, drawing 0-0 with West Brom and losing 1-0 to Leeds.