Fulham vs Burnley Preview: Three Questions

Cottagers Confidential: Burnley went up, and then right back down. They seem to be in good position to go up again. Is that what you expected this season? If so, how can the club stabilize so that they don't become a yo-yo club?

Clarets Mad: We only picked up two points from the first three games but have recovered well since and are now in a decent position in the league, just a couple of points behind leaders Brighton.

I think it can be difficult to know what to expect after a relegation. Teams often have a hangover and certainly dropping out of the Premier League has not proved too easy to deal with for a number of clubs, Fulham being one example.

I think our club is very stable but it will always be difficult in the Premier League for a club like ours. We are a small club, certainly by that league's standards, and we don't have any benefactors which can elevate us beyond our status.

Hopefully we will be able to get back and establish ourselves in the top league. I'm old enough to remember us leading it but sadly in today's football those days are not going to return for us.

CC: It's been more than five years since the last meeting between these two clubs. What's changed for Burnley in that time? What are you most looking forward to when playing Fulham?

CM: We haven't met that often in recent years. We've both been down to the bottom and both climbed back to the top and often missed each other on the way. Those last meetings were in 2009/10. At the time Fulham were in their ninth successive Premier League season and we were the new boys having sneaked up via the play offs.

A lot has changed since then. We went down and for a while didn't look as though we might make a return, but then the 2013/14 season came out of the blue for us. Suddenly we had a manager with a small group of players who believed in him and we went on a record breaking season that saw us win promotion convincingly.

We are now a much stronger club. For a few years we were having to cut costs, sell players such as Charlie Austin to QPR, but now we are able to keep hold of our better players, certainly financially, and the club is debt free. That's so important to any club to have such a strong base.

CC: It's been a long time since Fulham have been to Turf Moor. What can the travelling fans expect when they get there (though on a Tuesday night, I'm not sure how many will travel).

CM: It's almost six years since Fulham last played here. The ground certainly hasn't changed much although a lot of work was done on the away stand 18 months ago so it is somewhat better for away supporters.

You always seem to come in midweek, I think this is the third or fourth successive game you've played at Turf Moor that's been on a Tuesday night. We'll see if we can find a nice Lancashire welcome and get the temperatures down a bit. Right now it is far too warm for a Burnley November night.

CC: Predicted Lineup?

CM: Sean Dyche isn't one for changing his team too often so it would not be a surprise, assuming we don't have any new injuries, if it was the same team and subs as were on duty last Saturday against Huddersfield.

That is: Tom Heaton, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, George Boyd, Joey Barton, David Jones, Scott Arfield, Sam Vokes, Andre Gray. Subs: Matt Gilks, Matt Lowton, Stephen Ward, Matt Taylor, Michael Kightly, Rouwen Hennings, Chris Long.