Burnley v Sunderland predictions: Talented Tella can stay on the goal trail

Where to watch Burnley v Sunderland

Sky Sports Main Event & Football, 8pm Friday

Best bet

N Tella first goalscorer
1pt each-way 7-1 bet365

Burnley v Sunderland odds

Burnley 9-20
Sunderland 13-2
Draw 17-5

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Burnley v Sunderland team news

Burnley
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is back in contention but fellow central defender Hjalmar Ekdal is a doubt after being forced off at half-time while playing for Sweden against Azerbaijan on Monday. Jay Rodriguez remains injured and Josh Brownhill has been sidelined for over three weeks.

Sunderland
Dennis Cirkin should return to the squad but Dan Ballard was injured on international duty while Aji Alese, Elliot Embleton, Jewison Bennette, Ross Stewart and Corry Evans are ruled out for the rest of the season.

Burnley v Sunderland predictions

Burnley's domination of the 2022-23 Championship has been a team effort but Nathan Tella has been their standout player in recent weeks and looks set to star again when the Clarets take on Sunderland at Turf Moor.

Clarets manager Vincent Kompany has been doing his best to keep players focused but his task is getting more difficult because Burnley may already have enough points for automatic promotion.

A home win over Sunderland would take Kompany's side 16 points clear of Sheffield United and leave them needing just two more victories to guarantee a top-two finish.

Securing three wins from the remaining nine games should be a simple enough task and Burnley look fairly solid favourites to see off the Black Cats, who have slipped seven points adrift of the playoff places to 11th.

Sunderland would need a string of wins to put pressure on the teams above them but their goal threat has been reduced since January after star striker Ross Stewart suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

Since Stewart's injury Sunderland have scored two or more goals in just one of their ten league games, and they are unlikely to go goal crazy against the Clarets, who have the best defensive record in the division.

The majority of the threat is likely to come from the home side and there is every chance that 17-goal forward Tella could make the difference.

The Southampton loanee has scored five goals in his last two league appearances and he looks overpriced to add to his tally.

Key stat

Nathan Tella has scored the first goal in each of Burnley's last two league games

Probable teams

Burnley (4-2-3-1): Muric; Roberts, Harwood-Bellis, Beyer, Maatsen; Cork, Cullen; Vitinho, Tella, Zaroury; Barnes.
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Al-Dakhil, Ekdal, Gudmundsson, Taylor, Bastien, Benson, Obafemi.

Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Patterson; Hume, O'Nien, Batth, Cirkin; Michut, Neil; Roberts, Diallo, Clarke; Gelhardt.
Subs: Bass, Pritchard, Ba, Gooch, Ekwah, Lihadj, Rigg, Anderson.

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