For the sixth successive year, Burnley will be competing in the Premier League and Sean Dyche is hopeful that he will have the resources to steer the club clear of the relegation zone once again.
The Clarets endured a disappointing end to the previous campaign, which resulted in a 17th-place finish, and so they will be keen to hit the ground running this time around.
Here, Sports Mole previews Burnley's 2021-22 campaign and takes an in-depth look at what the supporters can expect during the course of the season.
FIXTURES
Burnley will welcome Brighton & Hove Albion on August 14 for their opening game of the 2021-22 campaign. Dyche will be keen for the Clarets to improve their home form, after winning only four of their 19 games at Turf Moor last term.
Five of their opening six games on home soil this year will be against teams who have either been promoted or finished below last season's top eight, so they will be hopeful of a strong start in front of their own fans.
A Boxing Day clash against Everton is followed by a trip to Old Trafford in their final game of 2021, before a tricky start to the New Year with matches against Leeds United, Leicester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and then Liverpool.
The Clarets have another home game on the final day of the season, where they will face Newcastle United, a potential relegation rival this campaign.
> Click here to see all of Burnley's 2021-22 fixtures
SUMMER SIGNINGS
In
Nathan Collins (£12.6m, Stoke City)
Wayne Hennessey (free transfer, Crystal Palace)
Jacob Bedeau (free transfer, Scunthorpe United)
Out
Ben Gibson (£8.4m, Norwich City)
Bailey Peacock-Farrell (loan, Sheffield Wednesday)
Lukas Jensen (loan, Carlisle United)
Robbie Brady (free agent)
Jimmy Dunne (£1m, Queens Park Rangers)
Josh Benson (£1m, Barnsley)
Total spent to date: £12.6m
Total received to date: £10.4m
Net transfer balance: -£2.2m
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Nick Pope, Wayne Hennessey, Will Norris
Defenders: Matthew Lowton, Charlie Taylor, James Tarkowski, Ben Mee, Nathan Collins, Erik Pieters, Phil Bardsley, Kevin Long
Midfielders: Jack Cork, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Josh Brownhill, Dwight McNeil, Dale Stephens, Ashley Westwood
Forwards: Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes, Jay Rodriguez, Matej Vydra
> Click here for full details of Burnley's 2021-22 squad
STRONGEST XI
STAR PLAYER – Chris Wood
Burnley struggled to find the net last season, with only relegated duo Fulham and Sheffield United scoring fewer. More than 45% of their league goals came from Chris Wood, who will be a key player for the Clarets once again if they are to remain in the Premier League this term.
The New Zealand international, who scored once in his only game at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, was the club's top goalscorer in the league last season with 12 strikes to his name, nine more than his nearest challengers.
Wood has proven he is a clinical striker at this level, scoring at least 10 goals in each of the last four seasons, and Dyche will need to make sure that the 29-year-old is once again provided with regular service in the final third.
As a target man who lacks pace, Wood tends to convert chances created by his teammates and if the likes of McNeil, Gudmundsson and Westwood are whipping in balls from the flanks and from set pieces, the Kiwi will fancy his chances of getting on the end of them.
MANAGER – Sean Dyche
Currently the third-longest serving manager in the English Football League, approaching nine years in charge at Turf Moor, Sean Dyche will head into the new campaign with the same priority: survival.
With less than 12 months left on his contract and rumours linking him to a potential post elsewhere, the gravel-voiced Clarets boss may soon consider a change of scenery, but for now he is fully focused on ensuring his current club maintain their status in the Premier League.
Dyche's teams are definitely built more for efficiency than to entertain but we have seen on numerous occasions that they can frustrate the bigger clubs. The 50-year-old knows how to get the best out of his players, who are a tight-kit and well-drilled bunch, committed to his philosophy.
Although Burnley fans would like to see their club invest and make the next step, they respect the job Dyche is doing with the tools at his disposal. Motivating his players to avoid another relegation scrap could be one of the biggest tasks Dyche has this season, but he will certainly back himself to maintain the club's position in the top flight this year.
LAST SEASON – 17th
Aside from an impressive seventh-place finish in 2017-18, Burnley have spent the majority of their time battling to keep their top-flight status intact and last year was no different.
Claiming just 10 victories from their 38 Premier League matches, Dyche's men finished in 17th place, one point below the usual 40-point safety mark, though they were 11 points clear of Fulham in 18th.
Burnley had a miserable start to the 2020-21 season, losing five of their first seven games before securing their first win against Crystal Palace in November. The Clarets then managed to lift themselves back up in classic fashion, with an impressive run during the festive period, accumulating 11 points.
This spell proved to be crucial after another dismal run of seven defeats in their final 10 games of the season dragged them back into danger, though they were able to stay above the drop zone.
With Dyche's sides known more for their defensive foundations than their attacking threat, it is somewhat surprising that they have conceded 173 goals in the last three seasons, including 55 last year. This is clearly an aspect of their game which needs addressing if they are to finish clear of the bottom three.
PREDICTION
Burnley's strategy, as it has been for the last five years, will be to reach the 40-point mark and work from there. However, with competition around them seemingly getting stronger, this could be the year where they struggle.
A lack of activity in the transfer market is a concern, particularly when the vast majority of the other Premier League sides have been busy.
Burnley's starting XI are a robust unit that know how to get the job done. However, problems occur when key men are missing. With their lack of squad depth, any injuries picked up by their first-team regulars, or indeed any summer departures, will be noticeable and would certainly make them weaker.
If they can bolster their squad before the deadline, then they may have a fighting chance of survival once again. However, it does not look like the chequebook will be used any time soon and so the Clarets could be in for a difficult campaign.
VERDICT: 18th body check tags ::
