Burnley vs. Norwich City
Venue: Turf Moor
Kick off: 4PM
Burnley welcome Premier League rivals Norwich City to Turf Moor this afternoon with a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup up for grabs.
The Clarets have regained their form with back-to-back wins in the top flight, while Norwich remain in serious trouble at the foot of the table as focus turns to the domestic cup.
Burnley had been accused of sleepwalking their way towards a relegation fight when losing four games on the spin over the Christmas and New Year period, but they have since arrested that alarming slide with successive wins.
Beating Leicester City from a goal behind was a massive result for Sean Dyche’s men, especially considering his side looked devoid of any real ideas in the opening 45 minutes.
That could well prove to be the turning point in their season, having followed up those three points with another big win away at Manchester United in midweek – their first victory at Old Trafford in 57 years.
There is now a seven-point buffer between Burnley in 13th and Bournemouth in the final relegation spot, meaning Dyche may well take the FA Cup a little more seriously.
The Clarets made eight alterations to their starting lineup for the third-round win at home to Peterborough United but, given the winnable nature of Saturday’s tie, changes could be kept to a premium in order to keep momentum building.
This afternoon’s clash will mark just the second time the sides have met in the FA Cup, with Norwich winning 4-1 the only other time they faced off in a third-round tie eight years ago.
The Canaries finished 12th in the Premier League that season, though it is fair to say that their ambitions are a little lower this campaign with time running out to save themselves from relegation.
Daniel Farke’s men temporarily revived their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend, only to concede late on in a 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, leaving them six points from safety.
Norwich will therefore have bigger things on their mind than a cup run, even if there is a seven-day break before their next Premier League outing, a trip to Newcastle United on February 1.
Taking all competitions into account, the Canaries have won just one of their 21 away visits to Burnley – a 4-1 victory in April 2004 – with 16 of those matches ending in defeat.
With just five wins from 26 games all season, hope will not be high of improving on that disappointing Turf Moor return this weekend.
Burnley possible XI: Hart, Lowton, Tarkowski, Long, Pieters, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Wood, Rodriguez.
Norwich City possible XI: McGovern, Byram, Zimmermann, Amadou, Lewis, Tettey, McLean, Cantwell, Stiepermann, Hernandez, Idah.