{"id":554970,"date":"2020-06-25T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T04:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=554970"},"modified":"2021-12-29T19:23:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T00:23:17","slug":"burnley-could-help-watford-avoid-relegation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/06\/25\/burnley-could-help-watford-avoid-relegation\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Dyche’s Burnley Could Help Improving Watford Avoid Relegation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watford<\/a> continue their quest to avoid relegation as they travel to a deflated Burnley<\/a> side.<\/span><\/p>\n

This comes following The Clarets’ thumping 5-0 defeat<\/a> against Manchester City<\/a> on Sunday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burnley Could Help Watford Avoid Relegation<\/h2>\n

Sean Dyche will want to put his last game behind him as Burnley seek to bounce back heading into Thursday\u2019s match. The team have been sitting in the middle of the league table and delivering middle-of-the-table performances for most of the season but lacked depth against Pep Guardiola’s ruthless City.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Watford have been on the rise since Nigel Pearson took over in December and drew 1-1<\/a> with Leicester City<\/a> in their first game since the league restart. A dramatic stoppage-time overhead kick from Craig Dawson shocked the Foxes on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hornets will certainly be entering the match with higher spirits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Team News<\/span><\/h3>\n

Last week, Pearson said that all but three of his squad members were fit<\/a>: Gerard Deulofeu, Daryl Janmaat and Isaac Success were out through injury<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite not having any long-term injuries, Burnley failed to fill their substitutes\u2019 bench in their last game. <\/span>Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are in doubt for Thursday\u2019s clash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dyche was forced to give a senior debut to Max Thompson against City due to the lack of experienced players – such as Joe<\/span> Hart, Jeff Hendrick and Aaron Lennon –<\/span> available. <\/span><\/p>\n

Previous Meetings<\/span><\/h3>\n

When the Hornets hosted Burnley earlier this season, they faced a 3-0 defeat<\/a> to The Clarets. Goals from Chris Wood, James Tarkowski, and a penalty from Ashley Barnes secured the win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Away to Burnley in the 2018\/19 season, Watford won 3-1. A 0-0 draw followed in the return fixture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contract News\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The main talk coming from Burnley this week has been about Joe Hart<\/a> leaving at the end of this season. Hart has made just three starts for the Clarets this season, all in cup games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lennon<\/a> is also expected to leave, while there is uncertainty over the future of Hendrick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Watford will be in good spirits after announcing that Ben Foster has signed a new two-year contract.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Would the Win Mean?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Hornets still have games against Manchester City, Chelsea<\/a> and Arsenal<\/a>\u00a0still ahead of them this season. Beating 11th-placed Burnley could be crucial to gain enough points to avoid relegation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After 30 games, they\u2019re 16th but only one point clear of the bottom three.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Burnley, Dyche may be happy with a mid-table finish after so much disruption within his squad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After their performance on Monday, The Clarets could quite easily lose to Watford despite their run of results prior to the break.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a>