Still searching for their maiden away triumph of the 2024-25 season, Plymouth Argyle make the long trek north to Lancashire for a Championship date with Burnley on Tuesday night.
Wayne Rooney's charges gave the Home Park faithful something to cheer at the weekend with a 3-1 triumph over Luton Town, while the Clarets were held to a goalless draw by Oxford United.
Match preview
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A tie that would have been Premier League vs. League One only a few months ago, Burnley's recent goalmouth struggles continued at the Kassam Stadium, where Oxford dug in and held the Clarets to a creditable goalless stalemate on matchday seven.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between for Scott Parker's side, who failed to score for the third time in six matches, having also drawn blanks away from home against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup and Sunderland in the second tier in late August.
Burnley's last 540 minutes of football have only produced four goals for Parker's side, but Saturday's forgettable clash at least stretched the Clarets' unbeaten run in the Championship to four games as they remain firmly in the playoff mix in fourth place.
Furthermore, each of Burnley's recent three goalless affairs have come on the road, and Tuesday's hosts are on an eight-game scoring streak at Turf Moor stretching back to a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth in early March, albeit while also keeping just one clean sheet in that streak.
The promotion hopefuls have also developed an affinity for midweek matches, having gone unbeaten in 19 such games since a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in December 2015, although they have actually won under half of those contests, drawing 10 of them.
![Wayne Rooney Manager of Plymouth Argyle thanks their fans after the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road Stadium, London, on 24 August 2024 [on August 25, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/wayne-rooney.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Wayne Rooney Manager of Plymouth Argyle thanks their fans after the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road Stadium, London, on 24 August 2024 [on August 25, 2024]")
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Two weeks on from their unexpected upset of Sunderland at Home Park, Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle produced the goods at home once again, where Luton Town succumbed to a stellar substitute cameo from Ibrahim Cissoko at Home Park.
The Toulouse loanee netted twice either side of a Victor Moses response in the second half, adding to an eighth-minute opener from Rami Al Hajj on another delightful Devon afternoon for the Green Army, whose side can look back on September incredibly fondly.
A narrow 1-0 loss to league leaders West Bromwich Albion has been the only blot on Rooney's notebook for the past month, and the Manchester United legend's side have now shot up to 15th place in the standings, although Bristol City will overtake them with a point or more versus Swansea City on Sunday.
While Plymouth may be rebuilding the walls of the Home Park fortress, they are yet to pick up an away victory in any competition this season and have managed just one goal in their last five Championship matches on unfamiliar territory, Morgan Whittaker's equaliser against Queens Park Rangers.
Not since the 2012-13 EFL Cup have Burnley and Plymouth crossed paths in any tournament - a contest won by the Clarets on penalties - but Argyle have to go all the way back to 1977 for their last victory at Turf Moor, losing 10 of their 13 matches at the Clarets' headquarters since.
Team News
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Burnley's injury situation is showing no signs of easing anytime soon, as all of Nathan Redmond (knee), Mike Tresor (leg), Benson Manuel (calf), Hannes Delcroix (muscle), Hjalmar Ekdal (muscle), Aaron Ramsey (ACL) and Jordan Beyer (hamstring) remain out of the reckoning.
Parker's players emerged unscathed from the draw with Oxford, though, and it will be interesting to see whether Parker opts for an alteration up front after an ineffective display from Lyle Foster at the Kassam Stadium.
Andreas Hountondji and the veteran Jay Rodriguez are both alternative options at the tip of the attack, while Jaidon Anthony could prove fresh legs on the left-hand side over Jeremy Sarmiento too.
Speaking of attacking changes, Rooney will be forced into a wide alteration this week, as Burnley-owned Michael Obafemi -still waiting for his first goal or assist of the season - is ineligible to face his parent club.
However, in what may be the easiest selection dilemma he will ever solve as a manager, Rooney will surely just promote two-goal Cissoko to the left wing in Obafemi's absence, but the visiting boss also saw Darko Gyabi pick up a knock towards the end.
The Leeds United loanee earned high praise for his performance against the Hatters, but either Jordan Houghton or Adam Forshaw might have to deputise in midfield this week due to the short turnaround time.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Humphreys, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires; Cullen, Brownhill; Koleosho, Hannibal, Anthony; Foster
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Edwards, Szucs, Gibson, Mumba; Houghton, Randell; Whittaker, Al Hajj, Cissoko; Hardie
We say: Burnley 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
Burnley have not replicated their toothless away-day displays at Turf Moor, but Plymouth have also not been able to buy a win away from home in recent months and have failed to score in each of their last four losses on rival turf.
However, the visitors are evidently growing in confidence under Rooney and have our backing to take a hard-earned point away from Lancashire.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
