Burnley v Sheffield United: Premier League – live!

33 min Norwood’s first-time cross is headed over by Berge at the near post. It wasn’t the easiest chance because the ball was slightly behind him.

32 min Burnley enjoy an extended spell of possession for the first time in the match. Nothing comes of it, but it’s the thought that counts.

28 min Burnley have been a bit more positive in the last few minutes, which suggests that Sean Dyche imparted some gravel-voiced wisdom during the drinks break.

22 min Stevens’ shot hits Bardsley and deflects wide of the near post for Sheffield United’s fifth corner. This one is claimed comfortably by Pope.

21 min “Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “Does anyone else have mixed feelings about the players and officials taking a knee at the kick-off? It seems to have become built into the pre-match rituals, and it risks becoming no more significant that the pre-match handshakes (that they aren’t allowed to do anymore). This is in no way a criticism of the players (who I think are sincere) or the cause that it is supporting. But the main problem that needs addressing is not so much particular racist incidents (like abuse from the crowd, etc), but structural discrimination in almost every institution and system in the country (including football). And we know that the Premier League is doing pretty much nothing to address that in their competition.

“There are no plans to introduce something like the Rooney Rule, which is already in place in the EFL, and I think the coaching experience scheme that was announced last week was an FA project rather than the PL. So the Premier League allowing everyone to endorse Black Lives Matter seems little more than the virtue-signaling that we are cynical about when done by various huge companies sending out a tweet but making no other changes.”

Yep, I pretty much agree with all of this. It’s such a complicated subject, changing an entrenched culture, but the response to BLM already feels like a bit of a fad.

19 min Westwood’s deep free-kick is miscontrolled by the stretching Tarkowski at the far post. It wasn’t an easy ball to trap because of the bounce, but it was still a chance.

18 min Sheffield United continue to dominate, and Burnley are struggling to get out. Osborn combines nicely with McGoldrick on the left and curls a terrific ball that bounces just in front of Egan at the far post. Pope read it well and allowed the ball to go past both him and Egan.

14 min I’d like to see that VAR check again. There were two appeals, the first when Pieters missed his clearance and the ball hit his arm, and the second when Egan’s shot was blocked. I don’t think the Pieters incident was a penalty, but the brief replay of the second suggested there might have been a handball.

12 min McBurnie has made a brilliant start to the game. We know all about his power but he has also produced two or three very subtle touches.

11 min There’s a VAR check for handball after Egan’s shot is blocked on the line. No penalty.

10 min At the other end, McBurnie gets round the back on the right and cuts the ball back to Berge, whose shot is crucially blocked by Long on the six-yard line.

9 min: Vydra misses an excellent chance! That was a lovely break from Burnley. McNeil found Rodriguez, who pushed the ball out to Pieters on the left. He played it first time through to Vydra, who took the ball in his stride and rolled it just wide of the far post. He should have scored.

9 min Anyone out there? Any good stories or observations from Asymptomatic Saturday?

7 min A corner to Sheffield United. The wind will make set-pieces even more dangerous today. Norwood’s inswinging swirls a bit and is headed away in the six-yard box.

4 min: Disallowed goal! Robinson’s long, swirling throw is dropped by Pope and put into the net by Berge. Thankfully for Burnley, the referee had penalised McBurnie for his challenge on Pope.

1 min McBurnie almost scores after 57 seconds! He ran onto McGoldrick’s neat flick and drove a low first-time shot that was kicked away by Pope.

1 min Peep peep! Sheffield United, in white, kick off from right to left. Burnley are in claret and blue.

It’s a wild, windy day at Turf Moor, which is the best possible excuse to post this clip. Watch it, it’s worth it.

Jay Rodriguez returns to the Burnley side, while Chris Wood is fit enough for the bench. But Ben Mee and Jack Cork are both out through injury. Sheffield United are unchanged from the team that beat Spurs on Thursday.

Burnley (4-4-2) Pope; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Long, Taylor; McNeil, Brownhill, Westwood, Pieters; Rodriguez, Vydra.
Substitutes: Peacock-Farrell, Dunne, Thomas, Gudmundsson, Brady, Goodridge, Benson, Wood, Thompson.

Sheffield United (3-5-2) Henderson; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Osborn, Stevens; McBurnie, McGoldrick.
Substitutes: Moore, O’Connell, Jagielka, K Freeman, Rodwell, Sharp, Mousset, Zivkovic.

Referee Peter Bankes.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Burnley v Sheffield United from Turf Moor, the first of f-o-u-r live games today. This match is 10th v 8th, which reflects the admirable overachievement of both these teams. Sean Dyche and Chris Wilder do the kind of work that doesn’t garner likes, retweets, thumbs up or whatever constitutes recognition in 2020. That makes their achievements – only Jurgen Klopp has outperformed them this season – even more impressive.

We take it for granted, but it’s pretty staggering that these teams are part of a sandwich that also contains Arsenal, Spurs and Everton. If Sheffield United win today they will become the Hovis in that sandwich, leapfrogging Arsenal to go seventh. A win for Burnley would move them above United and up to eighth. This is not normal, new or otherwise, and both teams deserve a bit more credit, like.

Kick off 12pm.