Burnley will look to steer further from relegation trouble as they face beleaguered West Brom at Turf Moor

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Sean Dyche’s side, after the demolition of Crystal Palace and a respectable performance against Fulham, will take heart from those games as they host the Baggies on Saturday.

Sam Allardyce’s side sit 19th in the Premier League table, 12 points from safety and without a win in five games as they look dead and buried with a quick return to the Championship on the cards.

The survival saviour of many clubs previously, evidence suggests helping the West Midlands club may be a step too far but he will be boosted by the return of Grady Diangana as he looks to spring a run of form.

January signing Robert Snodgrass will be assessed to see if he has recovered from his bruised knee in time for a start in this one, with full-back Lee Peltier also a doubt after a knock against Manchester United.

For the hosts, Ben Mee will return at the heart of defence after concussion protocols saw him miss their midweek draw with Fulham.

Matej Vydra is back as well for this one after being absent for the Clarets’ previous two matches. However, luck is not on the side of Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Robbie Brady and Dale Stephens who will all be out for this one.

Chris Wood and Erik Pieters will face late fitness tests as they are doubts for the fixture.

Dyche will want a continuation of his team’s superb home record as they have lost just two of their last nine league games in Lancashire.

Allardyce cannot draw upon that sort of consistency as the Baggies, since their impressive 3-2 victory away at Wolves at the turn of the year have only picked up two points from a possible 18 in recent times.

“Burnley are the best team in the league with how they play. Every man knows exactly what their job is in possession and exactly what their job is out of possession,”

The sort of praise normally befitting of his own sides of the past is something he could only dream of for his current set of players, but they have shipped goals at an alarming rate. Despite his appointment coming to end this issue, he has so far failed to address those concerns.

Both sides have seen issues on the attacking front, particularly in terms of the initial creation of chances with Burnley averaging a 0.90xG per game and West Brom 0.79xG. Even Sheffield United are averaging above those figures despite their horrendous campaign so far.

Of course, as their season suggest, the reverse fixture at the Hawthorns ended in a goalless draw, under the stewardship of Slaven Bilic at the time. Yet, this was the first of only two clean sheets that the visitors have kept this season, conceded a Premier League high of 55 this campaign.

Neither side have been particularly flattering on the eye and all expectations are that this will be a slog-fest of direct football, the likes of which is befitting of two sides sitting towards the bottom of the table.

Having said that, there is quality evident in both squads. Mbaye Diagne, a January signing on loan from Galatasaray, has impressed up top so far for the visitors, with Matheus Pereira capable of splitting open defences from his attacking midfield position on occasion.

Dwight McNeil has been a consistently impressive young talent on the left-wing for Burnley, with Josh Brownhill a lively playmaking option in the heart of central midfield, albeit his chances of a regular first-team slot have been somewhat limited through occasional injury and a preference from Sean Dyche of other midfielders.

Importantly, despite many of these sides games being devoid of quality, they have provided moments of quality and are capable of doing similar in this one. It may be a chance for a more progressive structure, given both teams cannot simply sit back for 90 minutes.

If the quality is not the best, Mike Dean is at the whistle and a reliance on him for entertainment is always well-judged.

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