Aston Villa vs Burnley news: Clarets battling to keep control of own destiny
- Paul Higham
- 19 May 2022
Burnley play Aston Villa for the second time in 12 days knowing a victory would put them on the brink of survival.
Burnley need a point to get out of the bottom three, but a victory at Villa Park would be a huge step towards Premier League survival ahead of the final day.
Aston Villa have little to play for and Burnley will hope Steven Gerrard has at least half an eye on Sunday's trip to Manchester City in terms of team selection.
It's Villa's last home game of the season though so they'll want a performance, but there's no doubt which set of Clarets needs the win more.
Burnley lost the reverse fixture just 12 days ago, and they had a controversial penalty at Tottenham to thank for dropping back into the bottom three at the weekend.
Mike Jackson's men still have survival in their own hands though, but only if they get something here, as a point moves them ahead of Leeds on goal difference.
Burnley host Newcastle on the final day while Leeds go to Brentford.
When: Thursday, May 18, 20:00 BST
Where: Villa Park
How to watch: Sky Sports Premier League
Who is the ref for Aston Villa vs Burnley
Paul Tierney will take charge of this one, who is on the verge of a landmark this season with just one more booking taking him to his century this season.
He's been in charge of four Burnley games this season and he's not been a good omen at all - with the Clarets losing three of those and drawing one.
Tierney has handed out five yellows and a red to Burnley players and given one penalty against them.
He did, though give Burnley a penalty in their 1-1 draw with West Ham.
This will be Villa's first game of the season with Tierney in charge.
Premier League season 2021/22 statistics: Games: 25, Yellows: 99, Reds: 3, Pens: 8
Recent form
Wins over Wolves, Southampton and Watford gave Jackson's side a sight at staying up, but the 3-1 home loss to Villa took the wind out of their sails.
Burnley played well at Spurs to frustrate Tottenham for large parts of that game, and the penalty that won them the game was controversial to say the least.
🗣️ "I think we've never been more certain what handball is" @Carra23 says it's a lot easier to see handballs now, after Harry Kane's penalty was the decider for Spurs against Burnley at the weekend. pic.twitter.com/iOcPtiywbY
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 16, 2022
So they have to try and get over that disappointment and extend their recent three-game unbeaten stretch at Villa Park.
Burnley are without a clean sheet in six straight away league games though, while Villa themselves have kept just two at home in their last 12.
It's been a mixed bag for Gerrard's side who play their third home game in a row and look to complete the set having lost against Liverpool and drawn with Crystal Palace.
Aston Villa and Burnley players in form
Danny Ings has scored in his last four games against former side Burnley, so is more than just a thorn in their side.
If Ings plays he'll be a threat again, especially if Burnley are missing both James Tarkowski and Ben Mee at the back.
Ollie Watkins is also finishing the season strongly as he's got three goals in four games, including one at Turf Moor.
Burnley have been spreading their goals around, when they've come, and even though he gave away that penalty, Ashley Barnes looked a threat at Spurs.
Barnes hit the post with a rocket so could have well scored, while Maxwel Cornet scored against Villa in the last meeting and has proven dangerous on his day.
Previous meetings
We obviously only have to look back 12 days for the last meeting, when Villa ran out 3-1 winners pretty comfortably, with Burnley's goal only coming in the last minute.
The latest run of fixtures in the Premier League is now evenly poised, with Villa and Burnley both winning twice with three draws in their seven meetings.
🗣 "We give away some sloppy goals, got punished for a couple of errors"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 7, 2022
Burnley Caretaker Manager Michael Jackson say's the team 'couldn't find the moments' to finish against Aston Villa 👇 pic.twitter.com/1QhT74EWBE
Burnley have scored in six of those seven games and have won one and drawn two of their games at Villa Park.
You have to go back to February 2010 for the last time Burnley lost a league game away at Villa.
Managers' thoughts
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard on how Burnley will play: "I'm not sure how Burnley are going to approach it, whether they're going to come with the attitude of 'it's a must-win game' or whether they'll come with the attitude that a point might be enough for them.
"My focus is on us. We'll be aggressive, we're at home. We played at Burnley recently and we played extremely well and we won the game comfortably.
"We'll definitely respect that Burnley are going to be the best version of themselves and it will definitely be a challenge."
Burnley boss Mike Jackson will look to turn things around from the first game against Villa: "We learnt a lot as a group. I learnt a lot as well about myself regarding what the game was and what it was asking.
"We know that now, we knew that on the day, but you learn these little things afterwards sometimes. In the moment, they don't always go the way that you want them to.
"You pick the bones out of it as always, and there are things that we could've done better on the day, but we still created chances, so you take the good out of what we did moving into Thursday."
Predicted Aston Villa vs Burnley line-ups
Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Leon Bailey are out for Villa, but Gerrard is still expected to name as strong a line-up as possible.
Calum Chambers can return at the back and Jacob Ramsey looks to start after coming off the bench against Palace.
Ben Mee could possibly return for Burnley but the chances are slim, while Jay Rodriguez, Ashley Westwood and Matej Vydra remain on their lengthy injury list.
Wout Weghorst should return to the starting line-up after Jackson went more defensive for the game at Spurs.
Possible Aston Villa starting line-up: Martinez; Cash, Chambers, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho
Possible Burnley starting line-up: Pope; Roberts, Collins, Long, Taylor; McNeil, Cork, Brownhill, Cornet; Barnes, Weghorst
Aston Villa vs Burnley prediction
A tough game to predict here, with Villa bossing the fixture just over a week ago but with Burnley now in a real desperation stage.
Just how much Villa want this will be key, even in front of their home fans for the final time this season - as they've not got the best home record in the world.
This could well be a draw, as while a win would give Burnley a huge chance of staying up, a point at least gets them level with Leeds and with a far better goal difference.
It could be nervy and go either way, but if you had to pick a winner then you'd plump for Burnley to just have that touch more desire to get over the line.
