League leaders at Turf Moor

Things couldn't come much tougher right now for the Clarets who are currently out of the relegation places only on goal difference having won just once in six league games this season, that against a Derby County side four weeks ago who were top of the league ahead of kick off.

Ben Mee - fit again after suffering concussion

The last time we came up against the top of the league was back in January in the last game before Eddie Howe became manager, and on that occasion we drew 0-0 at home against QPR.

Looking at the situation right now, a draw would probably be a good result tomorrow in what is expected to be the toughest game so far. At least we go into it on the back of a win after coming from behind in midweek to beat MK Franchise in the Carling Cup.

But, we also go into the game having failed to pick up a point in our two league games in September and our search for a home league win continues. The last win was against Middlesbrough in April and since we've drawn four and lost one at Turf Moor.

The only players ruled out are goalkeeper Brian Jensen, defender Michael Duff and strikers Danny Ings and Martin Paterson. Jensen was forced off early in last weeks' defeat at Peterborough with a groin problem and will be out until after the next international break whilst Duff should be back around the same time if not before.

Ings and Paterson are long term injury victims with knee and thigh injuries respectively. Neither of them are expected back in the near future and we learned only this week that Paterson's injury still prevents him from even walking any great distance.

Ben Mee should be fit to resume after suffering concussion last week and Junior Stanislas will be back in the squad having sat out the midweek game having played and scored for West Ham in the competition this season.

What will the team be? I expect both Chris McCann and Charlie Austin, used only as substitutes on Tuesday, to be back in the starting eleven. The question is which of  Marvin Bartley or Dean Marney will drop out for McCann whilst presumably Hines will return to the bench.

One of the big debates recently has been the absence of Andre Amougou. He was surprisingly left out after being our best defender at Crystal Palace. Michael Duff was brought in for the Cardiff game but three days later he was injured and since, up to Tuesday, we've had a defensive pair of David Edgar and Mee.

As the goals have gone in against us there have been calls for Amougou to be included. He got back in on Tuesday and won us the game with his spectacular late goal, and surely he'll now retain his place in the back four.

The team could be: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Andre Amougou, David Edgar, Brian Easton, Ross Wallace, Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Keith Treacy, Charlie Austin, Jay Rodriguez. Subs from: Jon Stewart, Ben Mee, Marvin Bartley, Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines, Alex MacDonald.

Our Opponents - Southampton

Southampton returned to the Championship at the end of last season, two years after being relegated and from going into administration. Having paid a few pence in the pound they are now one of the most financially strong clubs in the division which made something of a mockery of Nigel Adkins' comments about us being strong with the parachute payment.

Only the least observant of Burnley fans will be aware that they blew us out of the water in the summer to sign Jack Cork, a player very much wanted at Turf Moor. They followed that up by making a big offer to get Danny Fox and were reported to have offered £5 million to sign Jay Rodriguez, and offer that was turned down by the Clarets.

Having won promotion, they've started the season in outstanding form. They've won six of their seven league games whilst also winning all three Carling Cup ties. They were a minute from losing the leadership last night until Leeds grabbed a late equaliser at Brighton.

The only defeat has come at Leicester, where they lost 3-2 on the day we got our only league win at Derby, and it is apparent their strength is very much their ability to find the net. So far they've managed that 28 times in 10 games, 19 times in the 7 league games with a further 9 in the Carling Cup.

Of those 19 league goals, six have been scored by Rickie Lambert which includes a hat trick in a 5-2 win against Ipswich. Both David Connolly and Adam Lallana have scored four goals and in total they've had seven different scorers in the league, a stark contrast to us for whom only Charlie Austin and Keith Treacy have found the net.

They have a bigger squad than us, and that allowed Adkins to make ten changes for the Carling Cup win against Preston this week. One player included in that game was Danny Butterfield, who is on his way back from injury.

He'll be in the squad tomorrow but the team is almost certain to be very close to the one that beat Birmingham 4-1 last Sunday. That squad will include three players who have previously worn the claret and blue of Burnley. Richard Chaplow is likely to be on the bench but both Danny Fox and Jack Cork look certain starters.

Southampton's team last Sunday was: Kelvin Davis, Frazer Richardson, Jose Fonte, Jos Hooiveld, Danny Fox, Guly Do Prado, Dean Hammond, Jack Cork, Adam Lallana, David Connolly, Rickie Lambert. Subs: Bartosz Bialkowski, Aaron Martin, Richard Chaplow, Morgan Schneiderlin, Steve De Ridder.

Last Time They Were Here

Burnley and Southampton were apart for years in terms of divisions and there were no games between the clubs from the 1977/78 season until 2005/06. We were both in the Championship for four years before again going our separate ways in 2009 when we were promoted and they were relegated.

Today's game is therefore the first for three years, since the 2008/09 season when we recorded our first home win against them since 11th September 1976 when Ray Hankin and Peter Noble scored in a 2-0 win.

The 2006/07 and 2007/08 Turf Moor clashes had both ended in 3-2 defeats but we turned the tables in December 2008 by beating the Saints 3-2 although at just after ten past three no one could have expected the result to be so close.

Joey Gudjonsson - two goals

In a sensational start, Burnley were 3-0 up within 11 minutes of kick off and a landslide victory looked on the cards.

With just seconds gone, Martin Paterson hammered a shot against the underside of the cricket field end bar. What a positive start, but a frustrating one when you go so close to taking an early lead. The frustration didn't last long.

In the fourth minute, Wade Elliott got a ball into the box only for Southampton defender Chris Perry to turn it into his own goal, and 1-0 could have been 2-0 a couple of minutes later when Saints' goalkeeper Kelvin Davis made an outstanding save to deny Robbie Blake.

He wasn't so hot from the resulting corner. Steven Caldwell headed for goal and Davis made a right hash of it allowing Joey Gudjonsson to head home from close range. Seven minutes on the clock it was 2-0 and four minutes later the score was 3-0 as Gudjonsson got his second, this time hammering an Elliott cross into the roof of the net.

Paterson hit the post, Davis was twice fortunate to keep Eagles out but we couldn't get a fourth and by half time the game had quietened down a bit but the 3-0 lead looked one that would see us storm to victory.

We did win, but it proved to be nothing like as easy as we expected. Just four minutes into the second half Southampton pulled one back. Brian Jensen was letting the ball run out for a goal kick but somehow managed to get a touch. We didn't clear the corner and the ball dropped for Rudi Skacel on the edge of the box and he  hammered home.

Just past the hour Andrew Surman reduced the deficit even further and at 3-2 we had a nervous ten minutes or so. Thankfully we got back on top and Davis kept Southampton in it with good saves from Paterson and Eagles. Steven Thompson came on. He should have scored and should have been sent off. He missed the chance and got away with a yellow and by the final whistle we'd won it.

That was half way in the season. After the disastrous start in the first four games we'd won 40 points and were fourth in the table.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Chris Eagles (Alan Mahon 90), Robbie Blake (Steven Thompson 64), Martin Paterson (Ade Akinbiyi 90). Subs not used: Diego Penny, Alex MacDonald.

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Lloyd James (Jordan Robertson 84), Jack Cork, Chris Perry, Rudi Skacel, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Morgan Schneiderlin (Alex Pearce 36), Adam Lallana, Andrew Surman, Jason Euell, David McGoldrick. Subs not used: Tommy Forecast, Romain Gasmi, Paul Wotton.

Previous Games against Southampton

Click HERE to see all previous results against Southampton