Here’s Paul Wilson’s match report from Turf Moor.
Nick Pope and Ashley Westwood, man of the match and winning goalscorer, speak.
NP: [On saving from Jamie Vardy] At the World Cup, he took a few against me. It’s nice to be involved and make a few saves. Massive win for us and the atmosphere was electric. You go on bad runs, and to go four without a win is hard. To go 1-0 down and recover like that is important for us.
AW: I don’t get many, me and Corky have been saying that. It’s a great win for us.
Final score: Burnley 2-1 Leicester
Nick Pope’s penalty save was the key moment and from that platform, coming as it did not long after Chris Wood’s equaliser, Burnley seized the win and via a fine goal from Ashley Westwood. Leicester were, in truth, flat for most of the game. They have won only two of their last six games.
90+5 min: One last corner from James Maddison and Kasper Schmeichel goes up. It comes to naught and that’s that. Well done to Burnley.
90+3 min: Leicester look somewhat demoralised. Burnley are dealing just fine with the long balls aimed at them.
90+2 min: Chris Wood goes off for Aaron Lennon for Burnley and Phil Bardsley has been taking some treatment. The clock is being run down rather professionally.
90 min: Three minutes added on. Ricardo’s cross is headed away in desperation by Bardsley as an extra three minutes are added on. Then, the ball goes loose in the Burnley area and Nick Pope is only to too happy to smother the ball.
89 min: Maddison and Ricardo scurry into the box, and Burnley concede a corner. Maddison takes and it is cleared. Maddison then whips a low ball in that Ben Mee clears with a low, Phil Jones-esque header.
87 min: Soyuncu gets the ball in space and gets greedy. The jeers denote his failure to get the ball down anywhere near the goal. Leicester getting somewhat desperate.
86 min: Leicester pour forward but Burnley hold firm. Leicester look a little shapeless in truth while Burnley look organised.
84 min: Maddison is fouled by Tarkowski on the touchline and will take a free-kick. This time, Pope is less than convincing but there is nobody to stop him claiming it at the second attempt.
82 min: The remaining moments will likely see Leicester push on for an equaliser. They have been off it today while Burnley have been excellent in chasing this one down. They started poorly but have pulled themselves through this.
80 min: Well. Well. That was excellent midfield play from Westwood, who realised Chris Wood had started that move from deep so the space needed filling. And Leicester were left rocking on their heels.
Goal! Burnley 2-1 Leicester (Westwood, 79)
Burnley lead! Charlie Taylor’s ball beats Jonny Evans, comes off Fuchs and Westwood, surging forward finds the space to shoot.
Updated
77 min: Tielemans, after that billing, is jeered after whacking the ball out of play, and off the touchline. But then his ball means Vardy goes close with Pope making another fine save. Vardy looks vexed.
75 min: Leicester, with Tielemans on, step it up. Maddison has a shot blocked by Ben Mee, who has been in the thick of matters.
74 min: Brendan Rodgers is doing some pointing and directing. His team have looked ragged this afternoon.
73 min: Two Leicester changes: Off goes Ayoze Perez for Kelechi Iheanacho, and Dennis Praet for Youri Tielemans.
72 min: Leicester have to defend a free-kick, then a corner and the home fans are roaring on their men. The Burnley spirit is very far from extinguished.
71 min: Would Leicester’s have been a deserving lead? They have not been great in this game. barring Harvey Barnes, who has been a constant danger. And Vardy has been peripheral.
69 min: Well. Vardy made a mess of that but Pope was excellent. Now the home fans are up for this. Good atmosphere now.
Jamie Vardy has a penalty saved!
There is a delay for VAR, looking for an offside, but then comes the kick itself. It’s casual, and readable and Nick Pope makes a great save.
Updated
67 min: Penalty to Leicester! Mee brings down Barnes, who had sped away from him.
Burnley’s defender Ben Mee (L) fouls Leicester City’s midfielder Harvey Barnes (R) to concede a penalty. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images
Updated
66 min: A Leicester wildcat attack as Ricardo and then Barnes speed on but the final ball is just behind James Maddison and he fails to direct his shot away from Pope.
65 min: Soyuncu now taking the brunt off the crowd for his running battle with Chris Wood. This is turning into the type of physical contest that Burnley will relish far more than Leicester.
63 min: Leicester free-kick from the left, drifted by Fuchs at Soyuncu and there are some acrobatics from Jonny Evans before the ball is cleared at the third attempt.
62 min: Another clash between Bardsley and Maddison results in rage from the Salfordian defender and his manager. Burnley had wanted an advantage called after a previous foul by Soyuncu. The referee is taking the brunt from fans again. Moral probity is being questioned.
59 min: Maddison’s lofted ball is headed away by Taylor, just when Barnes was ready to receive the pass. Then, Perez gets space to shoot but Pope is ready for it, and stops it with ease.
58 min: Maddison booed as he goes to ground and doesn’t get a foul; there is a crackling atmosphere at last at Turf Moor.
57 min: The set piece always looked the likely route to goal for Burnley and so it proved. Leicester found themselves overmanned. The goal owed much to the quality of Dwight McNeil, who has suddenly come into this game.
Goal! Burnley 1-1 Leicester (Wood, 56)
McNeil whips in the corner. Mee clatters above everyone and Wood has a tap-in, having anticipated the knock-down.
Updated
55 min: Better from Burnley but still ponderous. Rodriguez does, though, force a corner.
53 min: Jonny Evans shows his experience in cutting back across himself to clear up the sliver of danger that had opened up when the ball was aimed at Chris Wood.
52 min: Maddison goes close, as he seizes on a bouncing ball, and suddenly a spectacular goal looks on, only for his shot to go wide. He saw glory there but didn’t get it.
50 min: Perhaps Burnley have some urgency after all. McNeil is their man for fliar and he gets to the byline and whips in a cross that evades all.
48 min: But what’s this? A Burnley attack of note, as Charlie Taylor whips in the ball and Chris Wood heads over. He just couldn’t get over it, even at his great height.
47 min: Next, Vardy manages to squeeze through the middle before the ball is cleared. Burnley reeling from a blast of Dyche?
46 min: We are back underway at a muted Turf Moor. Hope in short supply for the home fans? Leicester look to turn the screw early with a James Maddison shot which Nick Pope saves well and manages to direct the ball away from his area.
Joe Pearson from Indianapolis sums it up. “This is dire. Not much of a satisfying appetizer for the coming main course.”
New to Liverpool v Manchester United, mate? Usually awful games.
Mary Waltz emails in: “On the Stateside feed, the crowd goes silent at certain moments and Americans are getting to hear individual Burnley fans thoughts on their team. I especially liked “now why would you ***ing do that. F***!”
Half-time: Burnley 0-1 Leicester
Leicester’s goal came amid a morass of poor play from each team. The interception from Dennis Praet was the best moment of the half, and Harvey Barnes’ finish decent enough. Sean Dyche is raging, and well he might. His team have been poor, but he thinks Jack Cork was fouled by Praet. He wasn’t.
45 min: Leicester free-kick, and Maddison whips it in. Mee gets there first before McNeil commits another foul, and Maddison gets another chance to deliver. This time, Perez heads over.
44 min: Schmeichel has to make a save but it is not much of one. Chris Wood’s header was straight at him when it would have been far better directed at Jay Rodriguez as he was making a belated run into the box.
42 min: Leicester playing some slow passes as they try to take the sting out of Burnley, who have not presented much of a threat. The home fans continue to complain about the referee, but their team’s performance is the true source of their ire.
40 min: James Maddison down? Does that continue the woes of England’s Euro 2016 squad? No, he seems to be ok. Phew.
38 min: Burnley have a free-kick, a set-piece to feed off, and it comes from the left. There is brief chaos in the Leicester box, then a ricochet then a goal kick.
37 min: Leicester have confidence and so does Harvey Barnes who releases Maddison with a fine pass. That forces a corner which is cleared.
34 min: Burnley yet to win a game in which they have conceded the first goal. That came against the run of play, in that there had been no run of play to speak of. It was a bad goal to concede. Cork says he was fouled by Praet but VAR says no.
Goal! Burnley 0-1 Leicester (Barnes, 33)
Dennis Praet slides in on Jack Cork and Barnes speeds on, with Jamie Vardy pulling defenders with him. Barnes goes on and his shot beats Pope, who was not too impressive in attempting to save that.
Updated
32 min: A shot, an actual shot. The ball is flicked to Rodriguez, and he shoots from a very long way out indeed. It is easily claimed by Kasper Schmeichel.
30 min: Harvey Barnes hassled into a mistake but Burnley cannot force anything from it. Phil Bardsley then launches himself over Barnes and ends up in a heap. He will be OK to carry on, though. He has a sore neck but is made of stern stuff.
28 min: A burst by Ricardo adds a brief amount of zest but he is stopped by Ben Mee. It’s pedestrian stuff. Then, Evans comes across to wallop a ball angled for Rodriguez out of play.
26 min: Soyuncu has to take evasive action when he charges across to hack clear when the ball was in danger of dropping to Chris Wood.
25 min: Leicester have a corner, which Maddison takes and Pope punches clear. The ball comes to Praet but he can’t make much of the opportunity.
23 min: Leicester have been patient to the point of looking a little leaden. Jamie Vardy has only made on burst as he is being kept watch by a Burnley defence that is sitting deep.
21 min: Chris Wood penalised for a foul on Evans. Seems to be some ref rage from the locals. Burnley have stepped this up a bit, look the more energetic team.
20 min: Leicester called upon to do some defending; Jonny Evans smells the danger when a ball is launched towards a waiting Ben Mee and then Kasper Schmeichel has to be first to the resultant corner. He does the same when McNeil whips in the next corner but Jack Cork is ruled to have baulked the Leicester goalie.
18 min: Dare I say that these teams look tired? Good thing that they will get a rest this week...oh, Leicester play West Ham and Burnley go to Old Trafford on Wednesday.
17 min: Jack Cork piles into a challenge on Praet. It was wild but the lack of contact meant there was no booking. He had left the ground, so was lucky to escape without a yellow.
15 min: Dennis Praet, in the team ahead of Tielemans, is at the centre of a patient build-up of a move that results in one of those trademark Burnley blocks. Burnley try to relieve the pressure but Wood and Rodriguez don’t appear to be on the same wavelength.
13 min: Perez is outnumbered by a phalanx of Burnley players. and that would appear to be the plan of action. The midfield is crowded but then Vardy springs on to a pass from deep, speeds past Wood, and then passes for Maddison to have chance to shoot. Instead, he takes an extra touch and loses the ball.
11 min: First roar of the home crowd after some neat skill from Hendrick but he then slows up and has his cross blocked by Fuchs.
9 min: This has not been great so far, with neither team looking in much nick. Burnley are taking their time over throw-ins and free-kicks.
8 min: Am proud to say that Christian Fuchs follows me on Twitter but he also follows 88,500 other people so maybe I shouldn’t be so proud. He’s taken over from Ben Chilwell for the day, and it has to be said that Chilwell has looked a little tired of late.
6 min: Not exactly the loudest of atmospheres at Turf Moor, it has to be said.
5 min: Barnes of Leicester has been lively and skips pass Hendrick, and it takes some hurried defending to clear Burnley’s lines.
3 min: Burnley have, on each occasion they have had the ball, launched it forward. Wood and Rodriguez almost linked up but the shot whips wide.
1 min: Burnley began with a long ball, funnily enough, and then Leicester quickly mount an attack with Harvey Barnes getting a shot in. That was allowed to happen rather too easily.
The game is afoot and Sean Dyche, of all people, is doing that talk behind the hand thing as he addresses the linesman in front of him.
Ahead of the match, a minute’s silence is being observed.
In Memoriam.
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 19, 2020
Today, we reflect on the loss of all members of the Clarets' family who passed away in 2019.
A one-minute silence will now take place to remember loved ones, sadly missed.
The following names will all appear on the big screen during this time of reflection. pic.twitter.com/pEpjf6oVty
Two facts worth mentioning: Ashley Barnes has had a hernia operation, and Leicester have lost three of their last five Premier League matches.
And Brendan Rodgers on the absence from his squad of Ben Chilwell.
Ben has played a lot for us this season, and this week he missed a bit of training...It’s an opportunity to get three points. We are in a good position in the league and we will need to focus and if we do the result will come.
Sean Dyche in pre-match on the return of Jay Rodriguez and Robbie Brady, in lieu of the continuing absence of Ashley Barnes.
It’s helpful, it’s good to see them coming back into the next group of game. They [Leicester] are a very good side, with good coaching, it’s not an easy task.
PA Media have the lowdown on those team selection for this match.
Jay Rodriguez returned for Burnley as they looked to end a run of four league defeats on the bounce at home to Champions League-chasing Leicester.
Rodriguez, who missed last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea through illness, started up front alongside Chris Wood in the continued absence of Ashley Barnes, while Phil Bardsley replaced Matt Lowton at right-back.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made two changes after a 2-1 home defeat to Southampton, with Nampalys Mendy and Christian Fuchs replacing Ben Chilwell and Hamza Choudhury.
Dyche and Rodgers worked together at Watford, with Brendan as manager for a brief spell and Dyche working with the youth team at the club he eventually managed. There is obviously warmth between the pair. Rodgers dished out the praise.
He is a guy I know well. He is a real student and a deep thinker of the game, and as a coach he is first class. He is very progressive, his teams have clarity in how they work, the players understand their roles, and he has them super-organised and committed. Like us all, in various sections of the league, there is a limit in terms of budget which gets you certain types of players. What he does is give confidence to the players he brings in, where it might not have worked out for them at other clubs. Absolutely no disrespect to Burnley, but if there was an opportunity at a higher level for him, then he could go on and do that, without any shadow of a doubt.
Ahead of this game, Sean Dyche spoke in his pre-match press conference and had some kind words for Leicester and Brendan Rodgers.
I like the manager and what he is trying to achieve there. They have invested heavily in the players but they are a younger group who are developing all the time with enough experience in key players in there as well. We are on a tough run of form, but I don’t think they are naive enough to think it is turn up and get the business done. We are not a million miles away.
The last time these teams met, big bad VAR reared its head.
An Opta stat which tells something of the problem with Burnley,
Burnley have gone 10 Premier League games without scoring a first-half goal, since beating West Ham 3-0 in November. The last team to have a longer run of games without netting in the opening 45 minutes were Burnley themselves in May 2015 (12 games).
Those teams again in analogue fashion.
Burnley: Pope, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Bardsley, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Hendrick, Wood, Rodriguez
Subs: Hart, Lowton, Brady, Pieters, Lennon, Vydra, Long
Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo, Soyuncu, Evans, Fuchs, Mendy, Perez, Praet, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy
Subs: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Gray, Tielemans, Albrighton, Iheanacho
The referee is Anthony Taylor of Wythenshawe.
Here are the teams.
TEAM NEWS: Here's how we line-up for today's @premierleague game v @LCFC.
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 19, 2020
Two changes for the Clarets#BURLEI pic.twitter.com/DsiVbmcUe7
Your Leicester City team for #BurLei, brought to you by @eToro 🦊
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 19, 2020
Subs: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Gray, Tielemans, Albrighton, Iheanacho.#BurLei
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 19, 2020
Preamble
We need to talk about Burnley. Dycheball is having a crisis. There have been crises before during the club’s long stay in the Premier League but losing every single game in 2020 is not a good portent for a new decade. They have also scored just one goal since Christmas, and that came in a defeat to Aston Villa. It has them plunging down the table, and if Eddie Howe and Bournemouth are in trouble so is another manager who embodies his unfashionable club.
Let’s also talk of Leicester, for whom any chance of a title challenge relies on a Devon Loch scenario unmatched in human history. Liverpool have got this, but second place is very much within the grasp of Brendan Rodgers’ team, what with Manchester City looking at the end of their cycle and dodgy of defence. A victory at Turf Moor would take Leicester level on points with Pep Guardiola, who has taken to admitting his team is playing for second. There has been something of a stall, after last week’s defeat to Southampton and being held at home by Aston Villa in the first leg of the League Cup.
Kick-off at 2pm UK time
