Matt Scrafton, Burnley Express: Clarets have given themselves fighting chance of Premier League survival | OneFootball

Matt Scrafton, Burnley writer for the Burnley Express, provides the lowdown on Scott Parker’s side ahead of Brentford’s visit to Turf Moor on Saturday (3pm kick-off GMT).

The Clarets have taken four points from their last two Premier League fixtures, winning 3-2 at Crystal Palace before drawing 1-1 with Chelsea last time out.

Burnley are 19th in the Premier League table ahead of Brentford’s trip to Turf Moor on Saturday. How would you say the three months since the last meeting have gone?

At the time, Burnley were doing just fine. They were still in a relegation scrap but that was always expected and they had made a pretty decent start to the season.

They talked quite repeatedly about picking up an average of one point per game, which is what they were doing at that point. But, since then, it has been a struggle.

In the long winter of late November, December and January, they went 16 games without a win, though thankfully that ended at Crystal Palace earlier this month. Also, at one point, leading up to Christmas, they lost seven games in a row, which means they are behind their objective at the moment.

They have picked up in the last week or two and, while they are quite realistic – they know it is a long shot – they have given themselves a bit of a chance. If they win on Saturday, with Nottingham Forest playing on Sunday, the gap to safety will be down to five points.

Burnley are still going to have to do something remarkable and, if they do it, it will be ‘The Great Escape’ as they are going to have to do something they have not shown all season and put together five or six wins.

They know that, but they have given themselves a fighting chance of staying in it, which is something for the fans to cling onto.

How are the confidence in terms of trying to pull off that ‘Great Escape’?

It depends on who you speak to, but the players, especially, over the last few weeks, have come out and said they believe.

In this industry, we know they have got to say that, but it does not come across as insincere, so I do think they believe it.

Within the same sentence, they are saying they know it is a massive gap, and they understand why people are writing them off. They are not offended by that; they know the situation and they are a decent bunch of players.

Burnley are giving it a go, which is all the fans wanted. Over those two or three months at the end of last year, they were getting quite disillusioned, thinking they were not going to even match the 24-point total they achieved under Vincent Kompany. It looks like they should do that now.

At the start of the season, if you would have told Burnley fans they would finish 18th, but go down with a fight, I am not saying they would be happy about it, but they are quite a realistic fanbase.

Which player should Brentford be keeping an eye out for on Saturday?

The first player that comes to mind – and not just because he scored against Chelsea last weekend – is Zian Flemming. He has been one of the real positives for Burnley.

If you look at Flemming’s record, six league goals as a striker is nothing to write home about, but he has only started 11 games as he began the season with an injury and missed a large chunk, as well as around Christmas time, so that has limited his minutes.

He has also been in and out of the team, with Armando Broja and Lyle Foster rotated quite heavily. Over the last few weeks, though, Flemming has been the first-choice striker and six goals in 11 starts is an impressive record.

He is the sort of player you might not notice for a lot of the game, but when he does get a chance, he is quite clinical, which is massive for a team like Burnley.

What should Keith Andrews’ players expect in terms of shape and style?

The style depends on the game, but one of their issues is that they do not have a noticeable style: they are not a counter-attacking team and they do not press high, so I think the fans would want them to be a bit more definitive in that respect.

Predominantly this season, they have played a back five. On the occasions they have changed to a back four, it has not really worked, so I suspect it will be something like a 5-2-3 formation, with the two wingers tracking back with the two central midfielders.

What’s your score prediction?

It is a massive game and Burnley have got to win it. They have not done particularly well at home recently, but I am hoping the four points from the Palace and Chelsea games will have given them a bit of positivity. I will go for a 2-1 Burnley win.