Football Bet of the Day: Burnley set to struggle for goals again

Club football returns with a bang this weekend after the final international break of 2024 came to a close. Lee Carsley saw out his England spell with a big win in the Nations League, while San Marino recorded the most unlikely promotion after ending their 20-year wait for a competitive win. It’s been fun, but now we have four months of uninterrupted club football, and it all begins on Saturday. 

Our focus for Saturday’s Football Bet of the Day comes from the Championship, where Bristol City host Burnley (12:30, Sky Sports+) at Ashton Gate. 

They might be fourth in the league, but I’m really unconvinced about Burnley’s prospects of promotion this term. The Clarets have been nothing short of turgid of late, and their games are just so boring right now. Scott Parker may have achieved two promotions from this level with Bournemouth and Fulham, but the same concerning patterns appear to be emerging at Turf Moor. 

Burnley have some of the best attacking players in the division in the form of Luca Koleosho, Jaidon Anthony, Zian Flemming and Jeremy Sarmiento - yet they don’t seem to be able to find a rhythm in front of goal. There’s enough quality in this squad, several of whom won this league with 101 points under Vincent Kompany, to suggest that Parker isn’t getting a tune out of them right now. 

Yet they remain fourth in the league and they are just four points behind the league leaders Sunderland ahead of a trip to Bristol City. It presents a serious challenge for Parker’s side. The Clarets have scored just two goals in their last five outings and it took a late penalty against Swansea for them to secure a 1-0 win last time out. 

Up against a Bristol City outfit that is bang in form, I think Burnley will struggle to find the net once more. I also believe the Robins will come out on top given how well Liam Manning has got his side playing right now. City have lost just one of their last 10 matches, and that defeat came in the very last minute at home to Sheffield United, when Rob Dickie had been sent off for the hosts. 

They responded to that loss with an exceptionally impressive performance at Carrow Road as they secured a 2-0 victory over a team that hadn’t lost at home for over a year. With the likes of Max Bird stepping up a level this season and Nahki Wells proving he still has the goalscoring touch in the Championship, I think the play-offs are a realistic possibility for this squad right now. 

You don’t go eight games undefeated at this level unless you have something about you and the two squads feel like they are trending in different directions. Burnley aren’t getting the best out of each other and it could just be a matter of time before they slip out of the top six due to their lack of cutting edge. Meanwhile, Bristol City are getting better and better, and I believe they will leapfrog the Clarets in the coming weeks. 

They are currently just five points behind the away side, and with a win here that gap will shrink further. The Robins kept a clean sheet at Norwich, and should be able to do the same again given Burnley’s lack of functionality in the final third. A Bristol City win to nil is our Football Bet of the Day for Saturday, November 23.

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