Leeds United face Burnley this Saturday and they have an opportunity to secure three points against a side with a fresh injury concern already.
The Clarets came up with Leeds United in 2024/25, with both Scott Parker and Daniel Farke securing 100 points apiece for their efforts. That said, Leeds had a statistically better season than Burnley last time out.
The underlying data suggested more dominance from Farke and co. than their hosts this weekend, but Burnley did not lose a game to Leeds last term. They were one of only four Championship sides not to lose at least one of their two league games to Farke’s side.
This season is an entirely new campaign with different requirements for survival. However, numerous Leeds fans believe Burnley will suffer from relegation this term, with survival the aim for both teams to consolidate their places in the top flight.
Lyle Foster’s injury withdrawal with South Africa ahead of Leeds clash
It’s a game which is tough to call on paper, although Opta’s supercomputer suggests Burnley favourites against Leeds for Saturday’s fixture at Turf Moor.
In terms of the current projections of some experts, Leeds and Burnley are both backed to be relegated. Three points for either would go a long way to changing that outlook, particularly if Leeds are able to put serious daylight between them and their hosts just eight games into the season.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 12 |  BrightonBrighton | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 9 |
| 14 |  FulhamFulham | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 8 |
| 15 |  LeedsLeeds | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 8 |
| 16 |  BrentfordBrentford | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 |
| 17 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 5 |
| 18 |  BurnleyBurnley | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 4 |
Farke will look to end a personal poor run against Burnley in his managerial career, having never scored a league goal against the Clarets for teams he has managed.
That includes a 0-0 draw in this fixture last term and a 1-0 defeat at Elland Road. However, his Leeds side are shaping up nicely on the injury front already, with Lucas Perri training and Willy Gnonto not far away.
Dan James, as of the time of writing before Thursday’s press conference, could be Leeds’ only absentee. We have had a look at predicting the Leeds XI against Burnley this Saturday but the question marks remain over some of Parker’s side.
They have been hit by an injury on international duty today, with South Africa in action in a World Cup qualifier today and Lyle Foster has been withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana matchday squad due to an injury.
After consultation with the medical team, a decision was taken to withdraw him. Foster has one goal and one assist for Burnley this season, having started all of their seven league games as the centre-forward and target man.
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Who will Burnley use as their striker against Leeds?
Burnley have a dearth of true striking options without Foster’s ability to hold the ball up and pin his opponents, with Zian Flemming a different type of striker.
For most of his career, Flemming has been more of an attacking midfielder or secondary striker, as opposed to a true centre-forward. He is very much not a similar profile to Foster.
The most like-for-like player is Armando Broja, but the Albanian has had serious injury issues in recent seasons. He has featured in five games so far, but has just three Premier League substitute appearances so far under Parker.
If Foster’s injury is significant, it is a huge blow to Burnley’s survival hopes — and not just the weekend game against Leeds.
The referee for Burnley against Leeds has also been selected, and the omens are much kinder to Burnley on that front.
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