Wednesday here on Saturday

There really is an incredible record between us and Sheffield Wednesday. In the 2000/01 season, following our promotion, we met them in league action for the first time in 28 years with both games going in favour of the home side.

Since, there have been sixteen meetings, eight at Turf Moor and eight at Hillsborough, with only one of them ending in a home victory and that was the opening day of the 2008/09 season when Wednesday beat a Burnley side, which included both Diego Penny and Remco van der Schaaf, 4-1. What a way to start the season.

In the other seven there, we've won five and drawn two, but since Steve Davis scored the only goal to give us a 1-0 Turf Moor win against them in October 2000, they've drawn four and won four against us at the Turf, including that ridiculous 7-2 defeat in 2003 when they'd already been relegated, the one where Nik Michopoulos and Marlon Beresford turned in embarrassing performances.

It really is time for a change of fortune against them at home where the last two games have been drawn. In 2012/13 season we were three times in front through Charlie Austin goals but three times they equalised, and in our promotion season they only needed to equalise once in a 1-1 draw.

Sam Vokes says there is more to come from the strikers

We're going into the game having won the last two against Brentford and Bristol City but the big talking point has all been about our strikers. Those games were won with three headed goals from corners; Michael Keane getting one in each game with Ben Mee also scoring at Bristol.

A few weeks ago there was much talk about the number of strikers we had available, but to date only Sam Vokes, on the opening day of the season at Leeds, has found the net. That's something that is going to change according to the Welsh international who has just returned from duty with Wales on the brink of qualifying.

Vokes said: "I think we know there is more to come from us. It's not that we had a slow start but we probably didn't show as much as we can do. It's tough coming down because there is a lot of expectation on us but I think the last two wins showed we were getting back to it.

"I think team spirit is a massive thing for us here. We're a great group of lads that work hard for each other. We've shown what we're about so far and if we can take some confidence from the last two wins then we can definitely build on that."

We've played six league and cup games this season and Vokes has started the second, fourth and sixth. He was one of two strikers to come off the bench at Leeds, the other being Marvin Sordell, with first choice strike pair being Lukas Jutkiewicz and Jelle Vossen.

Incredibly, within days of the last game, the other three were out of the reckoning, two for good and one probably for the remainder of the season. Vossen went back to Belgium, Sordell had his contract cancelled and then came the news of Juke's cruciate ligament injury.

That means none of the potential partners for Vokes tomorrow, and I expect Vokes to start, were part of the first team squad when the season kicked off at Elland Road five weeks ago.

Rouwen Hennings has come in from Germany, hoping to buck the trend regarding players arriving at Turf Moor from outside the British Isles and more recently Andre Gray became the club's record signing from Brentford. The changes will have also seen Chris Long, a summer signing from Everton, thrust into the first team group.

Long was with the first team at Bristol two weeks ago and I would expect him to be named in the match day squad tomorrow for the first time.

There's still no place for Joey Barton who is about half way through a Dyche style pre-season but Matt Lowton is fit again and ready to be named in the squad for the first time.

Fredrik Ulvestad is still unavailable as he recovers from ankle ligament damage while Kevin Long and Dean Marney continue their comebacks, although Marney has had a slight setback unconnected to his knee injury.

I'm expecting Vokes and Gray to start the game up front so, provided everyone else is fit, we could line up: Tom Heaton, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, George Boyd, Scott Arfield, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Sam Vokes, Andre Gray. Subs from: Matt Gilks, Matt Lowton, Cameron Dummigan, Tom Anderson, Stephen Ward, Matt Taylor, Brad Jackson, Chris Long, Rouwen Hennings.

It's been all change at Hillsborough since last season. Our former first team coach Stuart Gray had his contract terminated and replaced by Carlos Carvalhal, this after the takeover of the club. They have added a former Burnley coach to the staff however with the appointment of Glenn Roeder as one of three advisors.

They have had a busy transfer window with no fewer than fifteen new players coming in, ten of them permanently and five on season long loans. Four of them are still to make their debuts - they are Michael Turner and Daniel Pudil, on season long loans from Hull and Watford respectively, along with Fernando Forestieri and Barry Bannan who have been signed from Watford and Crystal Palace.

Other signings include Lewis McGugan, another to sign from Watford, and Ross Wallace who has joined them after five seasons at Turf Moor.

They got their season off to a winning start when Tom Lees and McGugan scored in a 2-0 home win against Bristol City. Since then they've drawn two, against Reading and Leeds, and lost two against Ipswich and Middlesbrough. It means they are currently in 15th place in the league with five points.

They have scored in every game with Marco Matias, the Portuguese striker signed in the summer from Nacional, having scored twice with Modou Sougou and Ross Wallace joining Lees and McGugan with one goal.

It's difficult to determine what the Wednesday side will be with all these new players looking to make their debuts. They are also able to welcome back central defender Glenn Loovens whilst goalkeeper Keiren Westwood could also return.

The local media in Sheffield are suggesting the team could be from: Keiren Westwood or Lewis Price, Jack Hunt, Tom Lees, Glenn Loovens, Daniel Pudil, Sam Hutchinson, Alex López or Barry Bannan, Modou Sougou or Ross Wallace, Fernando Forestieri, Marco Matias, Lucas João or Atde Nuhiu.

Last Time They Were Here

We'd got 2014 underway with two successive league wins either side of an FA Cup defeat at Southampton. The first of them was a 3-2 home win against Huddersfield on New Year's Day and was followed by a 2-1 victory at Yeovil in which Ashley Barnes made his debut as a substitute.

Sheffield Wednesday were next up as we looked to make it three out of three but, as has so often been the case when Wednesday visit Turf Moor, we didn't make it and had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw.

This was a game we should have won. We were the better team by some distance but we did miss chances, we had some bad luck and we came up against Chris Kirkland in outstanding form.

During a first half that we dominated it was difficult to believe that it took virtually all of the half to take the lead. Keith Treacy, who was making a fourth successive start for the first time in over two years, was at the centre of much of it and Danny Ings was unfortunate not to get a goal from one of two superb crosses from the wide man. With the first he just couldn't direct his attempt on goal and then saw Kirkland deny him with the second.

We just needed a goal and it finally came on 43 minutes. Dean Marney nicked the ball away from a Wednesday defender. He chipped it into the box for Sam Vokes and the striker made no mistake, sliding the ball home.

Sam Vokes gives us the lead

Thankfully, we'd got a lead to take into half time, or so we thought, but before referee Stuart Attwell brought the half to an end it was all square. They won a free kick on the left and hoisted it beyond the far post. When it was headed back in, we hesitated, allowed the ball to bounce and Chris Maguire took advantage.

Referee Attwell took over the entertainment for a while in the second half. After failing to card both Joe Mattock and Connor Wickham during the first half, they were two of five players he booked in not much over twenty second half minutes, one being Marney for having his hand trodden on. He also carded Maguire for diving in the box; we got away with that one, he'd been fouled by Jason Shackell.

We threw everything at them but we just couldn't find a winner and then, right at the end, Barnes, on as a substitute, did really well to keep a ball in down the left before getting over a superb cross. Ings was sure he'd scored the winner but Kirkland came out on top again with a brilliant save and we had to settle for a point.

The results saw us drop out of the top two again. We were now third and chasing Leicester and QPR.

The teams were;

Burnley: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Danny Lafferty, Keith Treacy (Ashley Barnes 82), Dean Marney, David Jones, Scott Arfield, Danny Ings, Sam Vokes. Subs not used: Alex Cisak, Kevin Long, David Edgar, Brian Stock, Junior Stanislas, Michael Kightly.

Sheffield Wednesday: Chris Kirkland, Liam Palmer, Oguchi Onyewu, Glenn Loovens, Joe Mattock, Jaques Maghoma (Atdhe Nuhiu 68), Jose Semedo, Kieran Lee, Chris Maguire (Rhys McCabe 90+3), Connor Wickham, Caolan Lavery (Jeremy Helan 83). Subs not used: Damian Martinez, Stephen McPhail, Jermaine Johnson, Miguel Llera.

Previous Games against Sheffield Wednesday

Click HERE to see all previous results against Sheffield Wednesday (no cup games shown prior to season 1986/87)