Tom Heaton (£5.0m) has returned to competitive action for Burnley to complicate covering their defence in FPL.
The goalkeeper was named as captain for the Clarets’ latest Europa League qualifying match against Olympiakos.
Another potential game-changer is that Thursday night saw another defeat for Burnley and six goals conceded in two matches.
OLYMPIAKOS 3-1 BURNLEY
Goals: Chris Wood (£6.5m)
Assists: None
Heaton’s comeback means that team-mate Joe Hart (£4.5m) is no longer a sure starter. His Fantasy appeal has disappeared almost as quickly as it came. It had been thought that he could prove the best route into Burnley’s typically tight defence given the £0.5m rise in starting prices for their first-choice back-four. If Heaton is back for good then it removes that cheaper option among their ranks, and even if he will only be used sparingly to build up his fitness, it creates a risk around Hart anyway.
Unfortunately, Sean Dyche has not answered any questions about the number one goalkeeper spot just yet. The match in Greece was dominated by controversial refereeing decisions and his post-match press conference was largely centred on matters of officiating and members of the British royal family. No seriously.
A red card for Ben Gibson (£5.0m) will see him miss next week’s second leg, which may create a slight problem for Fantasy managers owning either one of James Tarkowski (£5.0m) or Ben Mee (£5.0m). Gibson started the match in Greece alongside Kevin Long (£4.5m), with Tarkowski and Mee preferred in the Premier League. However, one of those two will have to fill in for him next Thursday, increasing the chance of a rest in Gameweek 4 against Manchester United, or reducing their fitness levels if they do play both matches. Tarkowski is probably the most likely to start against Olympiakos as it was him who came on for Chris Wood (£6.5m) after the sending off.
However, it was another match which suggested investing in Burnley’s back-line is not as much of a guarantee of clean sheets anymore. They have now shipped six goals in their last two matches as participation in European football stretches them to their limit. Dyche’s men have already picked up a handful of injuries through an earlier-than-usual start to the season and they are yet to show encouraging signs in the league as a result. The uncertainty over the goalkeeper position (Heaton’s start was his first competitive one since last September) creates another factor which jeopardises what Dyche likes to have instilled in his team more than anything else: organisation.
Striker Wood laid claim to penalty kicks in the match, suggesting he is ahead of Ashley Barnes (£6.0m) in the pecking order. The main problem so far has been calling which of Burnley’s three senior centre-forwards are the most likely to start, let alone take the spot-kicks. Barnes and Sam Vokes (£5.5m) appear to be the favourites in European fixtures so far with 273 and 253 continental minutes between them, with Wood amassing 173 and clearly the Premier League favourite. Barnes took the first penalty of Burnley’s season, when Wood was not on the pitch, but the two of them were present when the New Zealand international dispatched the one he won on Thursday night. Wood should be preparing to start at Fulham on Sunday as a result of being pulled off after the hour-mark in Athens, although that decision seemed largely to do with Gibson’s red card.
As we mentioned last week, there continues to be a potential out-of-position option in Burnley’s squad. Left-back and FPL defender Charlie Taylor (£4.5m) was deployed on the flanks of midfield in Athens for a second European match in a row, having also come on for Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£6.0m) in Gameweek 1. While it was another largely fruitless night for Burnley’s attacking players, it is still good to know that Taylor exists as an option if there are further injuries in wide areas.
BURNLEY XI (4-4-2): Heaton; Ward (Lennon 66’), Gibson, Long, Bardsley; Taylor, Cork, Hendrick, Gudmundsson (Vokes 76’); Wood (Tarkowski 62’), Barnes.
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