A huge few days are in store in the Premier League with the title, European places and relegation battle still to be decided. Leeds United, Burnley and Everton are the teams fighting to avoid joining Norwich and Watford in the bottom three when the curtain closes on the 2021/22 season.
The Whites have just one game left at Brentford on Sunday while their two relegation rivals both have two left. The Clarets are the team currently occupying the final place in the drop zone and need a result away at Aston Villa on Thursday to ensure their survival fate is in their own hands.
Many are expecting them to pull off their annual magic trick of escaping the grips of relegation but they have left it much later than usual if they are to leapfrog Leeds and/or Everton. The togetherness that Burnley have been able to build from years of battling at the bottom is something Josh Brownhill expects to help stand them in good stead.
Read more: Burnley boss Mike Jackson addresses game in hand over Leeds United in Premier League survival bid
“Throughout the season, everyone’s been together, but these last two games are going to be absolutely massive,” he told our sister site Lancs Live. “We’re going to need everybody from the fans to the staff to all the players. It’s going to be a real big push for us because there’s no doubt that we’ve got the quality and we can win these games, so for us it’s about turning up on Thursday.”
Nick Pope added: “Something that’s massive about our dressing room is the characters in it.
“Everyone’s pulling in the same direction whether you’re in the team or out of the team and everyone wants the best for the football club, that’s something that has stood us in good stead in the past. It’s something that will be important for us."
And finally, Dwight McNeil put his spin on what it would mean to keep Burnley in the Premier League.
“It would mean a lot for me personally and it would mean a lot for the club as well and the fans,” he said. “We're all in it together and we'll keep going right until the end.
"The main thing for everyone at the club is to stay in the Premier League. First and foremost we've just got to try and focus on that."
Burnley’s trip to face Aston Villa on Thursday evening is comfortably one of the biggest games remaining this season. The outcome at Villa Park will determine how confident or nervous the Leeds players and supporters will feel on Sunday morning.
