Burnley ask for postponement against Watford
Following the controversy of the weekend, Burnley have become the latest side to request a postponement, this time for their clash with Watford on Tuesday night.
Burnley Football Club can confirm it has made an application to the Premier League for the postponement of Tuesday night’s match at home to Watford.
Full details here
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 17, 2022
In a statement, the Clarets wrote:
“Burnley Football Club can confirm it has made an application to the Premier League for the postponement of Tuesday night’s match at home to Watford.
The decision was reluctantly made to submit the application due to a high number of injuries and Covid-19 cases within the squad.
The Premier League Board will meet later today to review the application and inform both clubs of its decision.”
It comes just days after the north London derby drew widespread criticism for being postponed, and if accepted would be the 21st game of the season to be postponed, and would leave Burnley 5 games behind schedule.
Just how bad is it?
Insight into the issues and what it means for Arsenal
Now, speaking in his pre-match press conference, Sean Dyche has revealed the extent of the issues.
The Burnley boss claimed that no one had recovered from the situation that forced Leicester City’s clash with Burnley to be postponed at the weekend, while Charlie Taylor has picked up an injury in the process.
As a result, just 10 first-team players trained on Monday, well below the requirement for 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper that the Premier League make.
SD: Charlie Taylor is injured so at a worse state than postponement against Leicester.
10 recognised first team players trained today. #twitterclarets
— Andy Jones (@adjones_journo) January 17, 2022
It is unclear, of course, when these players will return, but with two games now potentially being called off, it would be surprising if they could not at least take the field in some form on Sunday, when they are due to play against Arsenal.
However, if they do not make the requirements, they will continue to fall behind the rest of the Premier League, which could leave them with the nasty consequences of severe fixture congestion come May.
