Burnley vs Watford
Turf Moor, Burnley
Thursday, 25-06-2020 @8pm
Ref: Mike Dean
Burnley have Phil Bardsley back in the squad after he signed a new deal, but Jeff Hendrick failed to agree terms and is leaving the club. Ashley Barnes, Robbie Brady, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Chris Wood remain out injured.
Watford have Kiko Femenia and Adam Masina available after they were taken off against Leicester as a precaution. Gerard Deulofeu, Daryl Janmaat and Isaac Success are all out for the season.
All seven top-flight meetings have been in the Premier League, with Burnley winning four. Watford are looking to win consecutive away matches at Turf Moor for the first time since April 2004, when they did so in the second tier.
Burnley’s only victory in the past 10 league games on a Thursday came against Wolves on Boxing Day in 2002. In the top-flight, their last win on a Thursday was 6-1 over Manchester United on Boxing Day in 1963. Having gone 19 Premier League games without a draw at Turf Moor (W9, L10), two of their last three home league games have ended all square. Nick Pope has kept 11 clean sheets after 30 matches, a joint-league high this season with Dean Henderson, Alisson and Ederson. The Premier League’s Golden Glove award has never been won by a goalkeeper from outside an established top-six club since its inception in 2004-05.
Watford’s only victory in their 20 midweek away games in the Premier League came at Arsenal in January 2017. The Hornets have won only one of their past nine matches in all competitions. After 30 matches of the season, only Norwich City had fewer Premier League wins than Watford’s six. They are the only club not to have scored a Premier League goal from outside the penalty area this campaign.
Southampton vs Arsenal
St. Mary’s Stadium, Hamphire
Thursday, 25-06-2020 @8pm
Ref: Graham Scott
Southampton have won three of their past five Premier League home games against Arsenal, more than they had in their previous 12 against them. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first victory as Southampton manager was against the Gunners in December 2018. Southampton have only conceded more Premier League goals against Manchester United (82) than they have against Arsenal (76).
Southampton’s Shane Long is available after a back injury caused him to miss their win over Norwich. Moussa Djenepo is still serving a suspension.
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has joined Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari, Gabriel Martinelli, Cedric Soares and Lucas Torreira on the injury list. David Luiz serves the last of his two-game ban, but Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Granit Xhaka are back in full training.
Southampton have lost nine home games in the league this season, more than any other top-flight side. Their Premier League club record for home defeats is 10, set in 1993-94 when there were 42 matches. The Saints are yet to draw a league game in 2020, winning five and losing five. They have kept a clean sheet in four of those five victories, while they’ve conceded at least twice in four of the five defeats. Danny Ings has scored three goals in his last two league appearances against Arsenal. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 40 shots without scoring a goal is the most by any top-flight player this season.
Arsenal have lost 10 points from winning positions in their 12 Premier League games under Mikel Arteta – as many as they had lost in their previous 36 combined under Freddie Ljungberg and Unai Emery. The Gunners’ only victories in 15 league away fixtures this season have come against West Ham and Newcastle. They go into this game with a goal difference of zero – they’ve not finished a top-flight season on a negative goal difference since 1975-76. One goal in this match for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would see him become the sixth fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals in what is his 78th appearance. However, he could go four league games without a goal for the first time since November 2014.
Chelsea vs Man City
Stamford Birdge, London
Thursday, 25-06-2020 @10:15pm
Ref: Scot Attwell
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has no fresh injury concerns. Jorginho is available again after a two-match suspension but Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi remain sidelined.
Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero will be absent, having travelled to Barcelona for an assessment of his knee injury. Gabriel Jesus replaced Aguero before half-time in Monday’s 5-0 victory and could deputise again.
Manchester City have won five of the past seven meetings in all competitions, drawing one and losing one. Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet in the last 11 Premier League encounters.
Chelsea have won three successive games in all competitions. They have only lost one of their past seven Premier League matches, winning three and drawing three. The Blues are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League home fixtures against the reigning champions. Olivier Giroud has scored in his last three Premier League starts against Manchester City.
City have won six of their seven most recent matches in all competitions. They have lost two of their last four Premier League away games. City have won 18 of their past 20 midweek Premier League fixtures. Kevin de Bruyne has been involved in a Premier League-high 25 goals this season, with nine goals and 16 assists. Pep Guardiola has only won one of his five away games as a manager versus Chelsea, drawing one and losing three.
The match-day 31 results so far
Tuesday, 23-06-2020
-Leicester City 0-0 Brighton and Hove Albion
-Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Ham United
Wednesday, 24-06-2020
-Man United 3-0 Sheffield United
-Wolves 1-0 Bournemouth
-Newcastle United 1-1 Aston Villa
-Norwich City 0-1 Everton
-Liverpool 4-0 Crystal Palace
