'We All Know What Burnley Are Capable Of'
- Burnley visit King Power Stadium to tackle Leicester City on Saturday (3pm kick-off)
- The Clarets are without a win from their opening five Premier League fixtures in 2021/22
- Burnley Express reporter Daniel Black is optimistic for the future at Turf Moor
- He does, however, say results must improve swiftly to enable the club to build
Sean Dyche's Burnley outfit head to King Power Stadium for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday without a win so far in the 2021/22 Premier League season. However, it took them eight games to get off the mark last season, leading to a 17th-placed finish in their fifth consecutive top flight campaign.
While Leicester have an excellent home record against the Clarets, unbeaten in their last 10 clashes, the two-time champions of England regularly provide stern tests for the Foxes, especially at Turf Moor. Black, speaking earlier this week, believes it is a matter of time before their form picks up.
"It’s been a similar story to last season really," he told LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show, which starts at 1:30pm on Saturday. "At the start of that campaign, it took them eight games to get that first win of the season and, from that point, they were playing catch-up.
"Obviously, they don’t want that to happen again, but they are entering similar territory having gone five games without a win this season. They’re going into the sixth fixture at King Power Stadium. They’ve been good, bad and indifferent so far this season.
"They’ve had strong spells in games and moments where they’ve switched off and been punished. It’s a shame as they’re five games in and they’ve already dropped eight points from winning positions, which in the Premier League is not good.
"Traditionally, under Sean Dyche, in the games where they have managed to get their noses in front, they have generally been able to cling on to that lead. It’s not been the same story this season. It’s a slight concern. It’s still early in the season and too early to get carried away just yet.
"We all know what they’re capable of. They’ve managed to dig out 1-0 wins and defend leads in the past and they have a quite remarkable record in that. You can see signs that it is coming back. They were tighter against Arsenal and were unfortunate to have lost that.
"They maybe should have held on against Leeds as well. There are signs there and I think it will come eventually, but it needs to come quickly."
Black says the 2021/22 season can be viewed as a transitional one for Burnley, who will be looking to build over the coming years following the takeover by American investment company ALK Capital.
"You can almost look at this season as one of transition," he added. "The new owners have come in and they’re trying to stamp their mark on the club, which will understandably take time. They’ve had a positive transfer window, which we haven’t been able to say about Burnley for some time now.
"They’re starting to try and rejuvenate the squad, which was ageing. They’ve brought some young players in and I think they’ll look to do that again in January and stepping that forward.
"I think if they can survive this season and keep looking to build through January and the summer again, next year, they could start heightening their ambitions and kick on from there."
Picking out key figures for Leicester to be wary of, Black highlights several players the Foxes will know well from previous encounters, while also pointing to the qualities of new signing Maxwel Cornet, an Ivorian wide player who joined from Lyon for a fee reported to be in the region of £13M.
"I wouldn’t say anyone’s particularly shone so far this season, but like I say, that’s part and parcel of the start they’ve had so far," Black explained. "Dwight McNeil can turn it on on any given day with the way he carries the ball and travels with it.
"He can manage to whip a ball in from the byline and then Chris Wood thrives on that kind of service. They’ve obviously signed Maxwel Cornet and he’s looked quite promising since his move from Lyon.
"He’s strong, he’s mobile, he’s cool on the ball and he had a hand in two goals in the Carabao Cup over Rochdale in midweek. Wood, one of your old boys, he’s always capable of finding the net as well. They have got players who can impact on games. They just need to bring it all together."
All times BST.