Burnley vs Barnsley preview: Nick Pope in line to start for Clarets
Pope has not featured for Burnley since July
Saturday 5 January 2019 09:05, UK
Burnley could have three key players back, including Nick Pope, for their FA Cup third-round tie against Sky Bet Championship side Burnley on Saturday.
Steven Defour, Stephen Ward and Pope are all back to full fitness as Sean Dyche prepares to make changes to his side following a heavy fixture schedule with Burnley coming off back-to-back Premier League wins against West Ham and Huddersfield.
Dyche is pleased to welcome the trio back, including Pope, who has not played since dislocating his shoulder in Burnley's Europa League qualifier against Aberdeen.
"Steven Defour has got a good chance for the weekend and Stephen Ward has a chance as well. He's going really well and has been training for a couple of weeks now," Dyche said.
"Equally we will consider Pope as well as being part of that group and part of that thinking. Pope is absolutely chomping, he's desperate to play so there are three that come into the thinking."
Barnsley assistant coach Andreas Winkler says the Sky Bet League One club are keen to cause an upset at Turf Moor with the Yorkshire side currently on a five-game unbeaten run.
"The league is the priority but, if you're in the third round, you want to go to the next round," he said.
"We're looking forward to playing against a Premier League team; they have a strong side but you never know. There are no penalty shootouts in the first game, so maybe we could go for a draw - or maybe more.
"They have really good centre forwards and quality on the wings with their full-backs and wide midfielders. They're a physical team and did well at Huddersfield (on Wednesday), and deserved to win. They will also want to go through to the next round."
Team news
Pope has been out of first-team action since dislocating a shoulder in the Clarets' opening game of the season at Aberdeen in the Europa League in July.
Defour hasn't featured since December 2 because of a calf problem, while Stephen Ward last played in the Carabao Cup at the end of September before being forced to undergo knee surgery.
Kieffer Moore is available for Saturday's FA Cup tie after missing three games through injury. Callum Styles has returned to Oakwell following a loan spell at Bury and could be in contention to play.
Opta stats
This will be the third meeting between Burnley and Barnsley in the FA Cup, with Barnsley winning the most recent meeting 1-0 in the 2012-13 third round at Oakwell.
Barnsley have won just one of their last 10 visits to face Burnley at Turf Moor in all competitions (D2 L7), winning 2-1 in the Championship in December 2008.
Burnley have lost just one of their last eight home FA Cup games (W6 D1), though it was their most recent such match at Turf Moor (0-1 vs Lincoln in February 2017).
Since beating Chelsea in the 2007-08 quarter-final, Barnsley have lost their last four FA Cup matches against Premier League opposition by an aggregate score of 2-14.
