Will It Be Clarets - And Blues For Arsenal?Burnley are going through a torrid time in the Championship, without a win in six, but they will be viewing the visit of Premier League leaders Arsenal as a welcome relief and an opportunity to put all that behind them and infuse Turf Moor with excitement and expectation.
The Clarets will be hoping they can rekindle the spirit that saw them knock another of the Premier League's 'Big Four' - Liverpool - out of FA Cup on 18th January, 2005, thanks to a Djimi Traore own goal.
Their visitors on Sunday don't come much more illustrious than the Gunners. Only
Manchester United have won the FA Cup more times than Arsenal (11 to 10). And the last time Arsenal were knocked out of the Cup by lower league opponents was on 17th January 1996, before Arsene Wenger arrived as manager. On that occasion, Sheffield United beat Bruce Rioch's side 1-0 in a third round replay at Bramall Lane.
Since then, Arsenal have won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. They've also reached the FA Cup semi-final seven times - eloquent testimony to how seriously Wenger takes the FA Cup, even though he is likely to rotate his squad significantly for Sunday's clash.
However, so impressive is Arsenal's 'second string' - youngsters and fringe players - that it has become something of a nonsense to talk about Wenger fielding a 'weakened' side in recent seasons. Indeed, it has been the Frenchman's policy to use the Carling Cup to give such players competitive big-match experience - and Arsenal have been semi-finalists in that competition in four of the last five seasons. They will be taking on Tottenham in another League Cup semi-final next week. That was their reward for beating Burnley's neighbours Blackburn 3-2 on a cup trip to Lancashire last month.
Nevertheless, despite being 31 places higher than Burnley in the league standings, the Gunners will not be taking this game lightly. Nor should they.
Burnley were FA Cup quarter-finalists in 2003, and reached the last 16 in 2004 and 2005, although they have not progressed beyond the third round in the last two years.
Burnley's FA Cup pedigree pales somewhat in comparison with Arsenal's, though they are past winners of the trophy. Their one triumph in the competition came 94 years ago, in 1914, when King George V became the first reigning monarch to attend a final. He saw the Clarets beat Liverpool 1-0 at Crystal Palace.
Since then Burnley have played in two more finals - in 1947 when they lost 1-0 to Derby County, and again in 1962 when holders Tottenham defeated them 3-1 at Wembley.
Their current manager, Owen Coyle - who replaced Steve Cotterill earlier this season - guided St Johnstone to the semi-finals of both of Scotland's major cup
competitions last season. And Coyle also scored against Arsenal for Bolton in the FA Cup in 1994 when Wanderers held the Gunners to a 2-2 draw at Burnden Park before winning 3-1 in the Highbury replay.
Arsenal do, though, seem more durable now. A 2-1 loss away to Middlesbrough on 9th December, is their only defeat in 10, and in fact they've lost just twice in their last 39 games in all competitions.
In the last two seasons, however, Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage in 2006 (by Bolton) and in a fifth round replay at Blackburn in 2007. So there may be some encouragement there for another Lancashire side beginning with the letter B.
Manager Wenger, having won the FA Cup with Arsenal four times, is only one behind the record held by Sir Alex Ferguson. As a club, Arsenal have appeared in 17 finals, one fewer than Manchester United, and the two clubs share the record for semi-finals appearances - 25 each.
The last time Arsenal beat Burnley at Turf Moor was 37 years ago when the Gunners, en route to winning the double, won 2-1 in the old First Division. Burnley's last home win against the Londoners was in December 1973 (2-1). Arsenal's last visit to Turf Moor was on the opening day of the 1975-76 season. The game finished 0-0 in what was the 17-year-old David O'Leary's League debut.
But Sunday's meeting will be the first between the two clubs in this competition since 1953, and Arsenal are aiming for a fourth straight FA Cup victory against the Clarets.
FORM GUIDE
Burnley (Coca-Cola Football League Championship )
01 Jan v Blackpool (A) LOST 0-3
29 Dec v Bristol City (H) LOST 0-1
26 Dec v Sheffield Wednesday (H) DREW 1-1
22 Dec v Ipswich (A) DREW 0-0
15 Dec v Preston (H) LOST 2-3
11 Dec v QPR (H) LOST 0-2
Arsenal (Barclays Premier League except where indicated)
01 Jan v West Ham (H) WON 2-0
29 Dec v Everton (A) WON 4-1
26 Dec v Portsmouth (A) DREW 0-0
22 Dec v Tottenham (H) WON 2-1
18 Dec v Blackburn (A) WON 3-2 aet (Carling Cup)
16 Dec v Chelsea (H) WON 1-0
TEAM NEWS
Burnley
1995 FA Cup winner David Unsworth misses out through suspension, while Clarke Carlisle (hamstring) is out for up to four weeks. Alan Mahon is rated doubtful with a groin strain, but Joey Gudjonsson and John Spicer return after bans.
Last Starting XI (v Blackpool): Kiraly, Alexander, Caldwell, Unsworth (Jordan 31), Harley, James O'Connor, McCann, Lafferty (Jones 71), Elliott, Gray, Blake (Akinbiyi 56). Subs Not Used: Jensen, Garreth O'Connor.
Arsenal
German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann should get a rare start as Arsene Wenger shuffles his pack. Cesc Fabregas, Manuel Almunia and Gael Clichy will be rested while Alex Hleb (ankle) and Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) have only slight injuries but will not feature. There will be a late test on Theo Walcott’s shoulder and Mathieu Flamini is suspended. Robin van Persie (muscle) is still a week from fitness.
Lassana Diarra, Denilson and Abou Diaby could contest the midfield places, while Nicklas Bendtner is available after his ban and Johan Djourou is back from a loan spell at Birmingham. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are likely to start in their last games before leaving for the African Nations Cup.
Last Starting XI (v West Ham): Almunia, Justin Hoyte, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Hleb 77), Fabregas, Flamini, Rosicky (Diaby 88), Eduardo (Walcott 63), Adebayor. Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Song Billong.
Squad: Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Senderos, Traore, Eboue, Fabregas, Diaby, Eduardo, Bendtner, Almunia, Fabianski, Hoyte, Hleb, Walcott, Adebayor, Song, Djourou, Gilberto, Diarra.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Burnley: Stanislav Varga joined Burnley from Sunderland on Friday on a month's loan from Sunderland. The 35-year-old completed the move to Turf Moor in time to be eligible to face Arsenal on his Clarets' debut, and manager Coyle said: "I have known him for years, both from when I played against him and during my time as a coach and manager. In the light of our injuries and suspensions, he will bring a physical presence to the backline."
Arsenal: Kolo Toure will be off to Ghana to link up with the Ivory Coast's African Nations Cup squad after this game, and will be keen to sign off with a victory in the hope that the Gunners will still be involved in the Cup on his return. Toure has been outstanding in the Arsenal defence this season, and his athleticism, pace and anticipation should help his team against Burnley.
PREDICTION
Cup upsets happen - there were several on Saturday - and Arsenal have suffered from them more than most in the past. But not under Wenger. And they have been in such consistent form this season that it is hard to predict an upset. They were drawn away to Sheffield United in the Carling Cup earlier this season, a similar sort of tie. But they went to Yorkshire with a young team and won 3-0 at a canter. So another Arsenal win looks probable.
Burnley 1-3 Arsenal
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