Burnley vs Leeds United: Visitors looking to cement top-half finish
- Michael Graham
- 14 May 2021
Leeds have had a memorable season so far, and they will be keen to maintain that momentum when they travel to Burnley.
When: Saturday, May 15, 12:30 GMT
How to watch: BT Sport
Best Bets
Leeds will be looking to cement a top half finish when they travel to Burnley on Saturday.
Marcelo Bielsa's men have man a hugely positive impression in their first season back in the Premier League, establishing themselves as one of the most entertaining sides in the division.
Burnley, meanwhile, have secured their safety for another year under in indomitable Sean Dyche, so it would be no surprise to see their usual steely discipline slide just a touch for this one.
Last Three meetings
This will be just the second time that these two sides have met in the Premier League, but there is no shortage of recent history between them.
Leeds 1-0 Burnley (December 27, 2020)
When these two teams lined-up against each other in December, it was the first time they had met in the top division of English football since April 1976.
It was ultimately decided by former Burnley loanee Patrick Bamford, who converted an early penalty to settle a tight match.
At that time, Burnley were really struggling for goals. It was the eighth time in their first 14 games of the season in which they had failed to find the net, and a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was their only goal away from home in six matches.
Burnley 2-2 Leeds (3-5 Penalties), League Cup (September 19, 2017)
There was certainly no shortage of goals and drama when these two played out a brilliant League Cup clash in 2017.
Burnley were a Premier League side then, but Leeds were not, so it was a big win for the Yorkshire side.
They essentially had to win it three times too, with Hadi Sacko giving them the lead in the 80th minute, only for a Chris Wood penalty to level things up nine minutes later.
Leeds looked like they had it secured again when Pablo Hernandez scored from the spot in the fourth minute of injury time, but again Burnley hit back, this time in the 96th minute through Robbie Brady.
In the end, penalties were needed to decide it, and it was Leeds who came out on top.
Burnley 1-0 Leeds (April 9, 2016)
Any latecomers into Turf Moor for this one would have missed the crucial action, with Scott Arfield scoring the matchwinner for the home side after just 58 seconds.
That was all that needed for the table-topping Clarets, who went on to win promotion that season.
Chris Wood, who is Burnley's top scorer this season with 12 goals, was in the Leeds line-up that day.
It again highlighted the recent pattern of all the goals between these two sides in recent history being either very early or very late in games.
Premier League head-to-head
Burnley wins: 0
Draws: 0
Leeds wins: 1
Burnley goals: 0
Leeds goals: 1
Leeds looking to maintain momentum
There can be little doubt that Leeds have been one of the more entertaining promoted sides in the Premier League in recent times.
Certainly, when you see West Brom and Fulham who both came up with Leeds both already relegated, their top ten position is even more impressive.
However, Leeds' Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United have shown just how quickly things can go bad for recently promoted teams once the momentum grinds to a halt, so Marcelo Bielsa will be keen to maintain it until the summer.
Burnley sigh of relief?
Given Burnley's superb mastery of the tactical fundamentals, there were few who really considered them relegation candidates this season.
It did look a little precarious for a while, though, particularly when they were failing to score goals earlier in the season, but they always looked too hard to beat to find themselves in real trouble.
That goal of survival has now been achieved, though, and there Is a chance that tactical discipline that is at the core of the Claret's power may be relaxed slightly.
While Sean Dyche likely won't approve, it might just make for a much more open game than we otherwise would have seen.
Goalscorer bets
Former Leeds marksman Chris Wood is on fire at the moment, scoring 5 goals in his last 3 matches including a hat-trick at Wolves.
He can be backed at 3/1 with Sky Bet to score the first goal, and given he is on penalty duty for Burnley that may be good value.
Leeds' top scorer, Patrick Bamford, is also playing against a former club, and like Wood you'd expect him to take a spot-kick should it be awarded.
He can be backed at 4/1 to open the scoring, although Jack Harrison at 8/1 looks very tempting value too.
