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Saints At Burnley The Preview
Friday, 12th Dec 2014 12:16

Saints travel to Turf Moor looking to end their run of four games without a win and start to move back into the top four again.

Saints travel to Burnley knowing that a win is essential if they want to put the blips of the past fortnight behind them and get back to winning ways.

Burnley themselves will be desperate for points and will start the day second from bottom with 12 points although ironically they have gleaned 5 points from their last 4 games so go into the game in far better form than Saints.

However Saints can take heart that the Clarets were well beaten by QPR last time out who with their 2-0 win leapfrogged over them in the table.

But Burnley are a hard side to beat, easpecially at home and it should be noted that although we have lost 5 games this season they themselves have lost only seven, the difference being wins, Burnley have only two, a 2-1 win at Stoke a few weeks ago, preceded the previous week by a 1-0 home win against Hull.

The message for Saints is exactly the same one that they failed to heed at Aston Villa a few weeks back, Burnley are the lowest scorers in the Premier alongside Villa with only 10 goals, if they get one first they are extremely hard to beat, but if you can score first then the pressure is on them and only Leicester and QPR have conceded more than the 24 Burnley have let in.

So for Saints its about getting back to basics and doing what we were doing well again, if we do that then there should be no reason why we shouldn't take three points.

In the back four Toby Alderweireld is set to return and that will be a big boost and the question again will who plays in midfield, missing will definitely be Morgan Schneiderlin and Jack Cork so it will be interesting to see what Ronald Koeman does, I suspect he will go with the same starting line up that played against Manchester United, a solid two of Wanyama and Davis with Tadic in front and Long and Mane out wide.

The difference is though he will have options on the bench this time with James Ward Prowse available again.

But the key to the game will be about getting Tadic and Mane into the game, Tadic has had a loss of form but now will have a little more time to get into the game than he has had of late and he could be the destroyer of Burnley.

Mane has come in for some stick, but he is a player who can change games, yes he only has one goal, but against Sunderland he was cruelly deprived of another and without his pressure the ball would not have been in the net.

yes he has lost his way in recent games and that has not been helped in some fans eyes by a couple of missed chances from close range, but a goal or two will change all that and tomorrow could be the day that he finds his form as well as the back of the net.

Probably as he finds his feet he would have been rested a little, but the injury crisis has meant that Koeman has not been able to take him out of the firing line, it should be noted that Tadic has lost form at the same time as Mane that has not been a help and we have to cut him some slack, perhaps out of the glare of St Mary's and with a more partisan support behind him that travels away, he can start to show us just why we bought him.

So the game plan is simple, keep it tight, unlike Villa don't let them score so we have to chase the game, put away our chances and find our form again.

Photo: Action Images



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