Vincent Kompany’s barnstorming Burnley side look to consolidate their position at the top of the EFL Championship when they welcome playoff hopefuls Sunderland to Turf Moor tonight.
Amongst Kompany’s squad is a wealth of loan talent, including superstar Nathan Tella, who scored a hattrick in the Clarets last outing against Hull City.
Tella has impressed many this season, with 17 goals in 34 league appearances surely raising questions at parent club Southampton, who currently find themselves propping up the Premier League table.
Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen also looks in line to start, impressing in the left back position this season with four goals and six assists to his name.
Jordan Beyer (Borussia Monchengladbach) will also be looking to maintain Burnley’s impressive clean sheet record, whilst on-loan Manchester City centre half Taylor Harwood-Bellis continues his rehabilitation from an injury picked up in the Clarets’ FA Cup win at AFC Bournemouth earlier this year.
Halil Dervisoglu (Brentford) may feature off the bench for the league leaders, having been an unused substitute in their last outing before the international break, whilst Michael Obafemi (Swansea City) will look to add more minutes into the bank following international duty with Republic of Ireland.
Sunderland, on the other hand, will be assessing whether impressive forward Amad Diallo (Manchester United) will be able to feature tonight, having not trained with the squad this week following his time with the Ivory Coast international team.
Edouard Michut (Paris SG) has put in some impressive performances recently and looks to have stamped out the problems which plagued his earlier career, having found regular game time at the Stadium of Light. It was reported that Premier League sides, including Fulham, were interested in making a move for the 20 year old French midfielder.
Meanwhile, Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United) will look to build on his return of one goal and two assists this evening. It’s been a frustrating start for the promising youngster, formerly of Wigan Athletic, who has shown promise but not quite found the form many had hoped he would find.
Burnley v Sunderland kicks off at 20:00pm tonight.
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