Burnley was up in the Premier League two seasons ago and was immediately sent back down to the Championship. The team though, sold its best player, Danny Ings for a huge sum to Liverpool, and that money was helped to shore up the side. The end result was an immediate return to the Premier League for this season. The Clarets are now much better served to stay up at this point than they were two years ago, and matches like this one against Arsenal at home are now attainable victories, not just hopeful draws.
Don't miss the BPL action from Turf Moor at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, October 2, 2016. Catch every moment of the match live on NBC Sports Network.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Burnley +750
Arsenal -250
Draw +385
Over/Under 3
Odds Analysis
Of course, we didn't say it was going to be easy for Burnley. The Clarets are still huge dogs at +750, but it certainly feels like they have better than a 1-in-7 chance to win this match over the course of 90 minutes. The Gunners are the deserving favorites, but a price of -250 is certainly chalky.
The Asian Handicap reads Burnley +1.5 at -135 vig, and because of that, the total almost has to be relatively high at 3 with -138 vig on the under.
Key Injuries
Sean Dyche doesn't necessarily have as many problems with injuries as he does his players doing stupid things. Andre Gray had some foolish things to say on social media that drew the ire of the FA and resulted in him getting a four-match ban. Is his time at Burnley finished? It's entirely possible.
Dyche won't have Ashley Barnes for this match, and he probably won't be back for at least another month or so from his hamstring injury.
The Gunners will get healthy at some point, but the team they're not fielding is better than the one that Burnley is. Missing from the fold this weekend are Francis Coquelin, Olivier Giroud, Carl Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck.
Recent Form
Arsenal has been on fire of late. The club has four straight wins under its belt, and its last 270 minutes of competitive play have yielded no goals for the opposition. A 2-0 win over FC Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday could be a bit of a distraction for this visit to Burnley, a team that has been focusing in on nothing but this match all week long, but it's hard to argue with the Gunners' form.
Burnley was emphatic in a 2-0 win at home against Watford last weekend, and that erased the nasty taste of the awful 3-0 loss against Leicester City at King Power Stadium from the week before. But then again, that's life for the Clarets. They've got three losses this year, 3-0 at Leicester, 3-0 at Chelsea, and 1-0 at home to Swansea. Aside from that, this team has been great, including a 2-0 win against Liverpool here at Turf Moor.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
The real draw here for Burnley is at the back. Michael Keane has been a fantastic addition in defense for the Clarets, and though he isn't a flashy name, he and record signee Jeff Hendrick are both playing incredibly well.
Are the Clarets going to win this match? Probably not. In fact, Arsenal isn't a lock to give up any points at all. What we are confident about is the Dyche's club is going to play its heart out just as it has in every match this season.
This is such an important fixture for the psyche of a club that would love nothing more than to have some sustained success in the top flight. Though we do think Arsenal is going to escape with a victory on the back of the in-form Theo Walcott, we fancy Burnley and the goal and a half on the Asian Handicap.
BPL Odds: Arsenal 2, Burnley 1
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