Burnley v Southampton predictions: Clarets can dig out a vital victory

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Burnley v Southampton in the Premier League on Thursday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 7.45pm Thursday

Best bet

Burnley draw no bet
1pt Evs Betfred, Hills

Team news

Burnley
Ben Mee, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Ashley Westwood are ruled out.

Southampton
Alex McCarthy has returned to training but is not certain to be involved.

Match preview

Burnley have been in the Premier League's bottom three since September but they are not without hope of staying up and can claim a massive three points by defeating Southampton at Turf Moor.

Last week's decision to sack Sean Dyche seemed like a strange move, but Burnley's players delivered an immediate response by drawing 1-1 at West Ham on Sunday.

Burnley manager betting latest: Wilder odds-on

The Clarets might have secured a fifth league win of the season had Maxwel Cornet converted a first-half penalty, but they performed well for caretaker manager Mike Jackson and withstood a late Hammers barrage to collect a precious point.

A lot more work needs to be done for Burnley to preserve top-flight status, but they have four home fixtures to come and three of them are against teams who are comfortably-placed in mid-table with little left to play for this season.

Southampton are one of those opponents, although they showed enough desire and moments of quality to register a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home to Arsenal on Saturday.

The weekend win took Saints to 39 points – removing any realistic threat of relegation – and their target for the rest of the season will be to secure a top-half finish for the first time since 2016-17.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has a reasonably healthy squad to pick from but there has been a lack of threat from Southampton in recent weeks with only four goals scored in the last six Premier League matches.

Free-kick specialist James Ward-Prowse and striker Che Adams are joint-top of the Saints' league scoring charts with seven goals each but there has been a dip in performance from six-goal Chelsea loanee Armando Broja, who hasn't scored a Premier League goal since early February.

Southampton away wins have been a rarity with only three achieved from 16 top-flight road trips and nothing is likely to come easily against a Burnley side scrapping to extend their six-season stay at the highest level.

Dyche could perhaps be criticised for failing to develop Burnley's uncomplicated style of play but his players never lacked spirit and they showed plenty in the last home game against Everton by turning a 2-1 half-time deficit into a 3-2 success.

And a typically honest, robust performance might be enough to see off Southampton, who have not had much success in recent trips to this corner of Lancashire.

Southampton were 1-0 winners at Turf Moor in September 2020 when their task was made easier by the absence of supporters.

However, they have taken just two points from the previous five Premier League visits and may struggle to avoid defeat this week.

Key stat

Burnley's last eight home matches against Southampton have featured just one away victory

Inside info

Burnley

Penalty taker Wout Weghorst
Free-kick wizard Maxwel Cornet
Set-piece aerial threat Wout Weghorst
Card magnet Josh Brownhill

Southampton

Penalty taker James Ward-Prowse
Free-kick wizard James Ward-Prowse
Set-piece aerial threat Mohammed Salisu
Card magnet Mohammed Salisu

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