On Friday night, Championship leaders Burnley will look to move a step closer to a return to the Premier League as they host Sunderland at Turf Moor.
The Clarets suffered a humbling 6-0 defeat at Manchester City last time out in the FA Cup, which ended an unbeaten run of 18 games in all competitions for the team from the English north west.
However, Vincent Kompany’s team is still 17 games unbeaten in the English second tier, having record 14 wins in the stellar run. The excellent form has seen the Clarets move 16 points clear of third-place Middlesbrough as they close in on an immediate return to the English top flight.
The league leaders have an exceptional recent home record, as they are unbeaten in 32 Championship matches at Turf Moor, a record dating back to their last spell in the second tier in 2015.
Kompany’s team has built their recent strong home record on good defensive displays, as they have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven home matches in the second tier.
The Black Cats are in 11th place in the Championship table, seven points adrift of the play-off spots. A recent record of one league victory in their previous seven outings in the second tier has hindered their chances of making the league’s top six.
In fact, Tony Mowbray’s team heads into this game on the back of four defeats in their last six matches in the Championship, having conceded at least two goals in each loss.
Sunderland’s recent away record could not have been more inconsistent of late in the second tier, as the north east team has won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six away games in the English second tier.
Forebet predicts that Burnley will continue their march towards the English top flight by recording a victory in a low-scoring encounter.