Lancashire

Scott Parker spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Burnley's victory against Leeds: "I thought the performance was everything we planned. They are a hugely competitive team and we experienced that last year, we went toe to toe with Leeds throughout last year. I thought our performance was everything we needed to take three points.

"We've tried to be flexible in our structures and we have worked tirelessly to do that. We swapped to a back four today and tried to have more attackers on the pitch and first half we took our moments and got a good goal. Second half we had to suffer a little bit and again you go into reserves when you need to dig a bit deep to get the result and the second goal gave us some oxygen. I'm immensely proud of the team.

"We spent a long ten days during the international break highlighting times where we have fallen short on that [concentration]. One thing you can never point a finger at this team for, and I will never point the finger for this, is effort, desire, passion and commitment. These players give that every single week.

"We have probably lacked a bit of nous at times in certain moments but today that game was every bit of that. I don't care what coach is standing here, when there is 10-15 minutes to go in that game there isn't a plan. You can't influence it from the sidelines. You need your players to understand what's needed. You can bring the best structures and formations in the world, the facts are that you need players to go to places that you can't coach."

Did you know?

Lesley Ugochukwu has scored in consecutive Premier League appearances (two goals), having only scored once in his first 43 appearances for Chelsea, Southampton and the Clarets combined.

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley have looked good in spells this season, but a run of four defeats in five league games left them desperate for three points against the side who beat them to the Championship title on goal difference last season.

Manager Scott Parker not only made three changes from the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa, but also switched to a back four for the first time this term - a move that paid off as his team kept Leeds at bay after half-time to claim victory.

Burnley's first-half opener was chiefly down to Kyle Walker's magnificent inswinging delivery into Lesley Ugochukwu, who was left with the simple task of guiding the ball inside Karl Darlow's right-hand post from close range.

But a number of Burnley players looked much more comfortable in Parker's new system, including 21-year-old Ugochukwu and holding midfielders Josh Cullen and Florentino, whose distribution was excellent throughout.

The home side failed to register an attempt between Ugochukwu's opener and Loum Tchaouna's second-half screamer - a venomous 30-yard shot into the top corner - but a second clean sheet of the season was very much a step in the right direction for a side who conceded only 16 times in the Championship last term.

The hard-fought win lifts Burnley above Nottingham Forest and out of the bottom three.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

What did you make of Burnley's display?

Have your say on Leeds' performance

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Scott Parker makes three changes to the Burnley side that lost at Aston Villa before the international break.

Zian Flemming, Lesley Ugochukwu and Jacob Bruun Larsen come in, while Jaiden Anthony is fit to start after suffering a knock at Villa Park a fortnight ago.

Loum Tchaouna and Josh Laurent are among the substitutes, but Lyle Foster misses out after suffering a dead leg on international duty with South Africa.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Walker, Ugochukwu, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman, Bruun Larsen, Cullen, Florentino, Anthony, Flemming

Subs: Weiss, Edwards, Tchaouna, Ekdal, Pires, Broja, Mejbri, Laurent, Barnes

Daniel Farke makes one alteration to the Leeds team that lost at home to Tottenham Hotspur in their last league game.

Jack Harrison replaces Noah Okafor, who misses out with an adductor injury.

Daniel James and Lucas Perri are back on the Leeds bench after recovering from respective ankle and muscle injuries.

Leeds XI: Darlow, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Longstaff, Ampadu, Stach, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin, Harrison

Subs: Perri, James, Piroe, Nmecha, Bijol, Tanaka, Bornauw, Justin, Gruev

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (12:30)

• Brighton v Newcastle

• Burnley v Leeds United

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Man City v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Sunderland v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fulham v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Fulham v Arsenal", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Burnley have been a bit unlucky to lose four out of four on the road so far, but they really need to get something at home, especially against another promoted team.

The Clarets beat Sunderland at Turf Moor at the start of the season, which is their only league win to date.

Scott Parker's side have been competitive in most of their other games too but so have Leeds, who have scored the same amount of goals as Burnley - seven - but feel like they carry a bit more of a threat.

This is going to be very tight. I don't like going for too many draws, but this fixture finished 0-0 in the Championship last season and I am going for the same outcome this time.

Sutton's prediction: 0-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Burnley and Leeds battled it out for the Championship title last season - now they face each other at Turf Moor in a Premier League clash which could have implications come the end of the season.

BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes ahead of their meeting.

This may only be Burnley and Leeds' eighth league game of the season, but this game between two promoted sides already has the whiff of a crucial six-pointer.

Leeds have made a better start to life back in the Premier League than Burnley so far, and will have spent the international break smarting from coming away with nothing from their last match against Tottenham.

Their narrow 2-1 defeat will have hurt given how well they competed against the Europa League winners. However, Spurs' extra bit of quality, shown by the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, proved to be the difference between the sides.

Where the goals are going to come from remains a hot topic for Leeds fans and a tally of just seven from seven top-flight games tells its own story. Winger Noah Okafor is their only player to score more than once this season, and while Dominic Calvert-Lewin has led the line well as the focal point of their attack, familiar questions remain about his ability to take chances.

Maximum points from this fixture and next week's home match with West Ham will be seen as a must by boss Daniel Farke, who has named the same starting XI in each of their last four matches.

For Burnley, one win from seven games represents a worrying start.

Only West Ham have conceded more top-flight goals than the Clarets' 15, which is remarkably only one less than Scott Parker's side let in across their 46 games in the Championship last season. They could become only the second side in Football League history after Liverpool in the 1894-95 campaign to concede their previous season's tally within their first eight games.

Two things Parker would like to see his side have more of is a) the ball and b) a lead. Their average possession stands at just 35.3%, while they have held a lead for an average of just eight per cent of their seven matches so far this season.

In mitigation, their fixture list has not been kind and they have faced Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

They have been in contention in many of those games but Parker has bemoaned his side's lack of focus at crucial junctures:

"There is a theme at the moment," he said after the loss to Villa. "We were hugely competitive, but switched off in certain moments."

Their one win this season came against another promoted club in Sunderland, something they will be desperate to repeat against Leeds as they look to get their season up and running

One statistic that neither Farke or Parker will look upon fondly is that they occupy the bottom two spots for the lowest Premier League points-per-game average of any manager to have taken charge of 50 or more matches.

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says they "have got a chance in every game" but the Championship remains one of the toughest leagues.

The Lilywhites, who are fourth in the table, have been without full-back Brad Potts due to injury and are also missing Will Keane after he got injured in the last pre-season friendly against Bolton.

"[Brad Potts and Will Keane] are still not fit," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"That's it, they are progressing. It is pointless trying to put a timeframe on it.

"You are fit when you are fit, and we have to do all we can to support them through that and that moment when they are training, when they get to that point, we will probably show a bit more caution and patience."

Preston visit seventh-placed West Brom on Saturday with the top 10 in the Championship only separated by six points.

"They are all tough in this league, home and away, it is shown all the time," Heckingbottom added.

"The results are showing this season in particular, how close the league is, the league table is showing that.

"Statistically it has been shown to be the tightest league in Europe, but there are reasons why it shouldn't be in terms of resources, finances, approaches compared to some clubs - but for some reason it is.

"It means you have got a chance in every single game, and every game you need to perform at your best, and every game is a tough game."

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

When we look at how teams are defending so far this season, Arsenal and Newcastle have been so impressive because they are giving up both the fewest shots per game and the hardest chances to score on average.

But as the graphic shows, there are two teams that stand apart from all the rest for having key defensive problems: Manchester United and Burnley.

Image source, BBC Sport

If you look simply at the number of shots that teams are giving up, Manchester United look good defensively since only Arsenal and Newcastle are facing fewer than their 9.1 per game.

But not all shots are the same and Ruben Amorim's side are currently giving up by far the easiest chances to score in the league, averaging 0.16 xG per shot faced.

Burnley meanwhile are facing by far the most shots at 18.4 per game, four more than any other side, although thankfully for them the quality of those chances is not that high.

Read more on what expected goals tell us about the start to the season

Preston North End defender Andrija Vukcevic says they "have started the season really well" but the Lilywhites need to remain consistent to build momentum for the season.

Vukcevic joined Preston in the summer on a three-year deal following the expiration of his contract at Mexican club Juarez.

"When I heard about the option to come on a trial here, I didn't really think too much," Vukcevic told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Although I had other offers I said, ' I really want to go there to prove myself'.

"It wasn't an easy decision, as you take a lot of risk, because you can get injured - but I decided to go and I didn't make a mistake."

Preston are fourth in the Championship, following a start to the season that has seen them lose just one of their opening nine league fixtures, in a 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth.

"We have started the season really well," Vukcevic added.

"It is just about how consistent we want to be, and we have had really great games to start the season, we just need to keep that momentum going.

"[The supporters] have been class since the first game. You notice on the pitch when you hear their voices, you just want to give your all."