Lancashire

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

The original team in claret and blue host a side with whom they have more than club colours in common so far this season. BBC Sport delves into the issues facing both teams before Sunday's meeting.

While promoted Burnley's place in the bottom three is no great surprise and can be mitigated by the fact their four defeats have all come against heavyweight opponents with vast resources, Aston Villa's slow start was not widely predicted.

Data analysts Opta calculated that Villa had the easiest opening five fixtures in the division - yet their first win didn't come until the sixth attempt, at home to an obliging Fulham last Sunday. An improved performance in that game, sandwiched between Europa League victories against Bologna and Feyenoord, suggests Villa are starting to snap out of their torpor.

Nonetheless, their attacking shortcomings are clear. Burnley copied Villa's club colours in 1910 and are mirroring the same issues as the Birmingham side on the pitch so far this season.

These are the two sides with the lowest expected goals (xG) tallies in the Premier League this season. Burnley's xG, a measure of how many goals a team is expected to score based on the quality of their chances, is 4.53. They have actually outperformed that, scoring six goals, but have had the joint fewest shots and shots on target in the division.

Villa have underperformed their xG by near-enough one goal in the league. More tellingly, they have only had a single shot which had more than a 50% probability of ending in the back of the net. It is not just Villa's forwards to blame either - their strangely passive build-up play in many games means they take 63.2 touches between shots on average, more than any other side.

Burnley manager Scott Parker admitted "our egos are dented" as a result of last weekend's 5-1 defeat by Manchester City, though he was "immensely proud" of his side's performance until the hour mark, when they were still level.

Nonetheless, the Clarets have lost all three away games this season, conceding 11 goals. They only let in eight goals in 23 Championship away fixtures in 2024-25.

Earning their first away points on Sunday will be a huge challenge, notwithstanding Villa's fragile confidence. Unai Emery's side have only lost once at home in the Premier League since the start of September last year – a record only Liverpool can match - and have the fourth highest points tally at home during that period.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Burnley boss Scott Parker has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Parker feels there is "plenty to be positive" about from their start, but also plenty to "improve and get better". He said: "Perspective has to come into play in terms of the level we have played against."

• On whether their next set of games looks more favourable: "We hope so. There isn't an easy game in the best and most competitive division in the world. We need to understand and approach every game with same outlook as these past ones. We have brought large elements to our game that have been hugely important and made us competitive."

• The Clarets boss praised in-form Jaidon Anthony, who has scored four goals in six games: "I believe he is a Premier League football player and you are seeing that now. He has not had a long period in the division and it had been stop start. He has the opportunity and he is grabbing that."

• On Anthony he added: "Unbelievable character. Diligent. Hugely professional. Always wants to improve. His raw ability added to that is what we all see. It gives him massive chances and you see it in his performances at the moment."

• On having to work on the defensive aspect, despite having a record-breaking defence last season: "Large element to what we do is to give ourselves a rock-solid base. It is a new squad too and a whole different back unit to last year. We are having to drill and educate and give ourselves that. The level goes up, you get more stressed in this division. It is a clinical league and you cant lose any focus for a moment otherwise you get punished."

• Parker said he has spoken to his team about the need for "constant belief" and added: "It needs to be a mainstay for us."

• On if it is a good time to play Aston Villa after a European game: "I will probably tell you after the game. They are coming off a couple of good results. They are coached by a top manager and are a top team. We saw last year what we are up against and Villa Park is a tough place. We need to bring our game to Villa to make it tough for them."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Aston Villa v Burnley from 14:00 BST on Sunday on FM, DAB and BBC Sounds

These two sides have made bright starts to the Championship campaign with Preston unbeaten at home and Charlton having not lost in their past four matches.

• Preston North End have won each of their past four league games against Charlton Athletic, with this their first meeting with the London side since a 2-1 victory in January 2020.

• Charlton Athletic have won just one of their past 20 away league games against Preston North End since 1955 (D5 L14).

• Preston North End have kept two clean sheets in their past three Championship matches, as many as they kept in their previous 19 league games.

• Charlton Athletic have won just two of their past seven league matches (D3 L2), this after winning five of their six league matches prior to this run (L1).

• James Bree has been involved in 50% of Charlton Athletic's goals in the Championship this season (4/8), providing two assists and scoring two goals for the Addicks.

Dan Roan
Sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

A decision on whether to scrap the Premier League's controversial Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and adopt an "alternative system" is "coming up", says chief executive Richard Masters.

The current regulations, introduced in 2015-16 to prevent clubs from overspending, allow losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle.

However, they have been criticised by several top-flight teams for limiting their ability to invest.

BBC Sport has been told a decision on any changes is likely to be made at a meeting in November.

In February, clubs chose to continue with PSR for the current season.

However a squad cost ratio (SCR) system of financial control was adopted by the Premier League on a shadowing, non-binding basis.

SCR is similar to Uefa's existing financial rules and allows clubs to spend up to a percentage of their total revenues on squad-related costs.

Nine of the league's 20 clubs already have to comply with Uefa's SCR as a result of qualifying for Europe. Both Chelsea and Aston Villa were fined by Uefa in July for breaching the rules.

Asked about SCR at the Leaders sports conference in London, Masters said: "We are talking to our clubs about an alternative system. That's not to say we don't think the PSR system works."

He added: "It's about closer alignment with European regulation, which is squad cost ratio, which is a revenue test. In Uefa, it's now set at 70%. Our system will be 85% because we always want our clubs to have the ability to invest.

"The Premier League has been built on the back of investment in which international capital flows [are] coming in. We don't want that to be to be stifled off."

Read more here

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has ruled defender Pol Valentin out of action for "weeks rather than days" after he limped off during the first half of Saturday's goalless draw with Bristol City.

Valentin had featured in all of Preston's opening seven Championship matches this season before missing Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Hull City with a hamstring injury.

Now, Heckingbottom has confirmed Valentin will be unavailable for the foreseeable fixture list as he prepares for Saturday's clash against an in-form Charlton Athletic (15:00 BST), unbeaten in their last four outings.

"Pol will still be out. He's getting a bit of treatment now - we'll know a lot more where he is after the international break," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Listen to the full interview and more about Preston North End on BBC Sounds.