Danny Mills believes Leeds United will face a difficult assignment against defensive “masters” Burnley on Monday, despite their wealth of attacking alternatives.
On talkSPORT (27 January, 7:43am), Mills forecast a challenging evening for the Whites as they traverse the Pennines to play the Clarets at Turf Moor in a top-of-the-table Championship meeting.
Daniel Farke’s side has the opportunity to move six points clear of Burnley in third place with a win, but Mills believes that despite possessing eight “fantastic” forwards, the game will only feature one goal.
He stated: “[It’s] going to be very, very difficult – Burnley [are] the masters of keeping clean sheets, aren’t they?” Defensively very solid, [a] difficult game for both teams.
“Leeds have four excellent forwards who can be replaced by another four at any time. I think it’ll be close; it may be 1-0 either way.”
Leeds United can make a Championship statement versus Burnley.
Although the Whites are top of the Championship after 28 games, a point ahead of Sheffield United following their 3-0 defeat to Hull City, there is still a sense around LS11 that Farke’s side has another gear.
Mistakes in defence and bad execution on the other end have cost United points in multiple games this season, with Illan Meslier alone losing them at least four against Sunderland and Hull.
The Peacocks’ home form has set them apart from any other team, with only seven points dropped from a potential 36, 12 victories from 15 games, and one defeat – against Burnley in September.
As a result, going up against a team that has conceded only nine goals this season, United face possibly their most tough job yet, despite their position at the top.
Coming away from the impregnable Turf Moor with all three points would send a message to the rest of the Championship, and rubber-stamp Leeds’ credentials as the team to beat in this league.
