Burnley and Newcastle United played out a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor this evening to take a share of the spoils in their Premier League meeting.
The Clarets, who are now unbeaten in their last four games, edged ahead in the first half courtesy of George Boyd's strike on the edge of the area following Danny Ings's clever knockdown.
Alan Pardew's charges recovered from a largely poor showing in the opening 45 minutes with a goal shortly after the restart, with Papiss Cisse converting from close range to level up, although neither side could find a winner in the remaining time.
You can relive Sports Mole's live text coverage of the action below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League encounter between Burnley and Newcastle United at Turf Moor
The visitors may have seen their five-game winning run in the top-flight come to an end on the weekend, but victory this evening could see them climb into a European spot. Sean Dyche's side have been on an impressive run of form themselves of late, meanwhile, having gone three games unbeaten to climb within a point of safety.
There's plenty to get through between now and kickoff at 7.45pm, so let's start by taking a look at how these two sides line up this evening...
TEAM NEWS!
BURNLEY STARTING XI: Heaton; Ward, Shackell, Keane, Trippier; Boyd, Jones, Marney, Arfield; Barnes, Ings
NEWCASTLE UNITED STARTING XI: Elliot; Janmaat, Williamson, Dummett, Haidara; Abeid, Tiote; Gouffran, Perez, Ameobi; Cisse
The Magpies make two changes for this evening's clash, then, with Papiss Cisse and Mehdi Abeid brought into the starting lineup. They replace the suspended duo of Jack Colback and Moussa Sissoko, who will no doubt leave a huge void to fill in the centre of the park.
Elsewhere for Newcastle, Fabricio Coloccini and Rolando Aarons remain on the sidelines, while Daryl Janmaat, Massaido Haidara and Mike Williamson have also recovered from knocks to be deemed fit enough to start from the off at Turf Moor.
While Newcastle may have been forced into making two changes, Sean Dyche has himself opted to make one alteration to his starting lineup. Scott Arfield, who returned as a sub against Aston Villa last weekend, comes into the starting XI in place of Michael Kightly.
The Clarets are still without defender Michael Duff, however, with Jason Shackell captaining the home side this evening. The very much in-form Danny Ings leads the line, alongside Ashley Barnes who will no doubt be keen to chip in with his share of goals.
What an incredible impact he has made at the club since taking over two years ago...
Well tonight's game provides Burnley with a real chance to climb out of the bottom three, which just a few weeks ago looked a situation that we would not see the Clarets in this season. That is all down to an upturn in fortunes in recent times, of course, which has seen the Lancashire outfit claim seven points from a possible nine.
This time last month many were questioning where that much-needed first win would come from, and with the pressure growing by the game, it looked as though Burnley's Premier League adventure would be coming to an end before the turn of the year. That win against Hull City earlier this month gave players and supporters alike the belief that survival can be achieved this season. Their 10-game winless run over, Dyche's charges then picked up a fine victory on the road at Stoke City, which was followed up by last weekend's 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Three points may have been the target against the Villans, although the spirit shown late on to not just salvage a point but come within inches of winning it through Ings will give Burnley some real belief coming into this one. They may have one of the Premier League's smallest ever budgets, but the Clarets are determined to prove the doubters wrong - they can take another step towards doing exactly that with three points this evening.
Newcastle made an equally poor start to the season, meanwhile, struggling to get off the mark which led to Alan Pardew's position at the club coming under intense scrutiny. Many - myself included, it must be said - wondered how he could possibly turn around his side's fortunes. But my word he has certainly managed to do exactly that, taking the Magpies within a few points of the Champions League berths.
A midtable finish this season wouldn't have been such a bad prospect just a couple of months ago, yet the aspirations of supporters has now altered somewhat. This is a football club that craves success, and in truth Newcastle should be challenging for a place in the top six comes May. If they are to do so then three points at Turf Moor, you feel, are a must.
I say that because Newcastle must take on Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and arch-rivals Sunderland over the festive period, meaning that a potential slide down the table could be on the cards. It's all about momentum for teams now, though, and a win tonight to get their campaign back on track once more following defeat last time out will do the Toon Army a world of good ahead of a hectic month.
DID YOU KNOW? The stat below may not read too well for Newcastle supporters, although spare a though for Burnley's fans who have not seen their side score more than one goal in a game this season at Turf Moor in eight attempts. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Clarets are the division's second-lowest scorers with just Villa beneath them in that department.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: This is in fact the first time that these two sides have met in the Premier League, and you have to go way back to 1983 to find the last time they met. That contest in the old Division Two ended with Burnley recording a 1-0 victory. Newcastle's last win at Turf Moor came in the 1975-76 campaign.
One player to pay particular attention to this evening is Burnley striker Danny Ings, who comes into this game with four goals in his last five outings. He has well and truly found his feet in the top flight over the last month or so to score a large amount of the Clarets' nine goals overall. It has led to the Englishman being linked with a move away from Turf Moor in January, with Newcastle manage Alan Pardew among the interested party.
In quotes attributed to the Daily Mail, the Toon gaffer said in the pre-match build-up to tonight's game: "I didn't say no [to being interested], I said in the past we've not made any inquiries or anything substantial.
"He is a player who is impressing at the moment. I know that Eddie Howe took him to Burnley and he was always praising him, so he's someone I've always kept my eye on.
"We get linked with all sorts of players, I don't know if he's been linked with us but we certainly haven't bid or made an offer for him in a previous window."
Interesting. Only time will tell whether or not a bid is going to be made when the transfer window reopens in the New Year, although Ings will be hoping to continue his hot streak regardless this evening. Potential suitors or not, his task is to score the goals which will potentially keep Burnley in the Premier League come the end of the season,
There's now less than 15 minutes to go before kickoff at Turf Moor, meaning that now is probably a good time to point you in the direction of Sports Mole's video preview of tonight's Premier League clash:
PREDICTION: I can see this being a typically tight game, although I believe that Newcastle's strength will show in the end. They may have a few injury problems, not least Rob Elliot stepping in for Netherlands stopper Tim Krul once again, but Pardew's charges have shown over the last couple of months that they are among the best sides in this division on their day. 1-2.
Elsewhere this evening on a rare night of Premier League action; Leicester City will look to arrest their alarming drop to the foot of the table when they play host to Liverpool, while Queens Park Rangers - another side in threat of relegation this season - travel to take on Swansea City. That fixture will also be of interest to Newcastle, who are battling for a place in the top five, with Manchester United and Stoke City meeting at Old Trafford.
Updates from elsewhere across the Premier League will be provided throughout the duration of the night, although immediate focus now returns back to Newcastle's trip to face Burnley in what is a big game for both sides for different reasons.
Incidentally, just short of 3,000 Toon supporters have made the trip to Turf Moor this evening, as Newcastle look to return to winning ways. Burnley, who are now within a point of safety having gone three games without defeat in the Premier League, will be backed by their own vociferous fans in what is a compact, old fashioned ground.
The teams are now out onto the field, and the pre-match handshakes are over and done with. We are in for another exciting round of Premier League action, with Newcastle getting us underway in Lancashire.
KICKOFF! We are underway at Turf Moor, with Newcastle just knocking the ball around among their back four and into midfield in the early stages.
Burnley are pushing Newcastle high up the pitch to stop their opponents from passing the ball through midfield, which is forcing them into making more direct passes. Great noise coming from the away section at the moment.
It's all Newcastle at the moment, although they have hardly done enough to trouble Burnley's backline. Ameobi thought he was in around the back a few moments ago, although he bundled Trippier over on the left which led to referee Phil Dowd bringing play back for a free kick.
Haidara has been down receiving treatment for the last couple of minutes, but he looks as though he will be fine to continue. He took a blow to the head so is understandably a little groggy, although Dummett can move across and fill in should he need to.
I raised the point pre-match with regards to Newcastle's poor first-half record this season in terms of goalscoring. They have failed to find the net in the opening 45 minutes in 10 of their 13 games so far this campaign.
CHANCE! The game's first real opening falls the way of in-form Burnley striker Ings, who forces Elliot into making a big one-handed stop. The build-up play from the home side was terrific, and the movement from Ings, who got in between Newcastle's centre-backs, led to him getting a shot away inside the box on the turn which was well kept out in the end.
YELLOW CARD! Mike Williamson picks up an early booking, before springing into action in the next wave of attack to put behind Barnes' dangerous-looking cross. Burnley have stepped it up over the last few minutes.
Janmaat goes on one of his trademark bursts down the right, although his cross into the box is picked out easily by Heaton. Newcastle have not offered a great deal in attack thus far, and it is Burnley who have come closest to breaking the deadlock through Ings's shot on the turn which forced Elliot into action on the 10-minute mark.
We've just had a second break in play with another player down. This time Trippier was the injured party following a hefty coming together with Ameobi, but just like Haidara before him, he looks as though he will be fine to return to the field shortly.
Not a great deal happening out on the field at the moment, with just that one chance so far. It's all very tight, which is making it tough for the attack-minded players to make any sort of impact. Lets just hope that changes in due course, or we could be in for a stalemate.
CHANCE! Another decent chance for Burnley has just come and gone. Again, the opening was created due to some very nice build-up play, and Ings was involved once more as he laid off Barnes, with the striker's curling effort ending narrowly wide of goal.
SHOT! The game has finally come to life, as Newcastle get their first effort in at goal. Ameobi forced Heaton into making a save down low with his strike across goal from the left, which came about following a good team move. It's been scrappy at times, but at least now we are seeing some positive attacking play.
Cisse has just squandered a half-chance after firing over Yoan Gouffran's knockdown. He has yet to get going in this one, but the fact he was in the position that he was is indeed a positive for the visitors.
This game is so scrappy at the moment with a little under 30 minutes played. We've seen some decent play from both sides at times, but neither can take control of proceedings. It's certainly not been a classic.
SAVE! Ings is asking a few questions of the Newcastle defence, but at the moment they have stood firm to the task in hand. It was up the other end of the field that we came close to seeing a breakthrough, though, with Abeid bursting through on goal and forcing a save out of Heaton. Could that spark the game into life?
GOAL! BURNLEY 1-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED (BOYD)
Well if ever a game needed a goal, it was this one - and what a strike it was! Trippier's diagonal ball up-field was knocked down by Ings into the path of Boyd on the edge of the field, and having been allowed to take one touch to steady himself the winger unleashed a solid effort which went pretty much right down the middle. Elliot simply had too many bodies in his path and just couldn't react.
It's somewhat ironic that Burnley scored just minutes after Newcastle had carved out their best chance of the game through Abeid. In terms of the Clarets' goal, Pardew will not be happy with the way his side not only allowed Ings to knock down the diagonal ball but also gifted Boyd with the time and space needed to fire home.
Newcastle were so nearly in then, but Cisse could not control a ball played into his path inside the box following some decent link-up play between Ameobi and Perez. It's not been his night so far, but as we know the Magpies always come out much better following the restart.
Newcastle's 2,800 travelling supporters have been subdued for the best part of 40 minutes at Turf Moor, which is a reflection of their side's showing in this first half. It's been all very laboured at times, and Burnley are good value for their advantage on the balance of things.
Perez has failed to get a grip on the game, bar that piece of play with Ameobi a short while ago, and he may be sacrificed at the break. You feel as though Pardew will change things around one way or another, anyway, because it simply hasn't worked so far in this first half.
CHANCE! Brilliant chance for Burnley to double their lead through David Jones, but the midfielder fluffs his lines. The Clarets man found himself through on goal around 10 yards out following some more decent play from the home side, but he fired high over the bar. He really should have hit the target from there at the very least!
HALF TIME: BURNLEY 1-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Just the one goal between the two sides at the interval, then, which I guess is a pretty fair reflection of things. It has been a scrappy affair in large, although the Clarets have taken the initiative the create the best openings.
Newcastle have been devoid of any real attacking ideas, with their best chance coming through Abeid just moments before Burnley opened the scoring. Ings, who has linked up well with Barnes in the first 45 minutes, also forced Elliot into making a strong stop in the opening 10 minutes, as the Clarets look to extend their current three-match unbeaten run.
PREMIER LEAGUE UPDATE: Time to bring you the first update of the evening from across the night's other Premier League matches. Leicester and Liverpool are level at the King Power Stadium, as are Manchester United and Stoke. There's yet to be a breakthrough in Swansea's meeting with QPR in South Wales, while Villa lead Palace.
It means that, as things stand, Burnley are out of the bottom three and two points clear of the dropzone. Newcastle are down in ninth, meanwhile, and in need of a couple of goals in the second half.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! Newcastle have made two changes at the break, with Perez and Williamson being replaced by Remy Cabella and Steven Taylor for the second half. Drastic action which, as I said a few moments before the interval, looked as though it was needed.
GOAL! BURNLEY 1-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED (CISSE)
I was just about to say how poor Cisse has been this evening, but he has just brought his side back on level terms at Turf Moor. A ball in the box from the left wasn't fully dealt with, as Cabella's strike was blocked away in front of goal, but Burnley eventually managed to clear away. Then, a second cross from the right from Janmaat was dummied at the front post by Gouffran and smashed home by Cisse in a central position. Dyche will be furious to see his side throw away their lead in that fashion.
Trippier in particular was at fault for that goal, miss-queueing his clearance which led to Janmaat's cross. It's a harsh one to take for the Clarets, which has changed the complex of this game completely with Newcastle now taking control.
SAVE! The visitors look far more composed on the ball now as a result of that equaliser, although Burnley have just pushed forward and came close to regaining their advantage. Arfield was the man who got the shot away inside the area, but the angle was too tight to get the better of Elliot down low.
YELLOW CARD! Michael Keane has been shown the game's second yellow card after a late challenge on Massadio Haidara.
Newcastle well in charge of the second half, which is in stark contrast to the first 45 minutes. They were unable to make the most of a free kick which was worked to Haidara on the edge of the box, however, with the attack quickly breaking down. Burnley need to stay strong at the back here.
PREMIER LEAGUE UPDATE: Liverpool and Manchester United have edged ahead in their matches against Leicester and Stoke respectively. It's the former of those results that will please Burnley most, with the Foxes an immediate challenger in the bottom three. QPR are still goalless in their clash with Swansea.
The game has returned to its scrappy nature in the past five minutes, as Ward becomes the latest player to receive treatment on the field. There's a little over 25 minutes remaining for one of these sides to find a valuable winner, but only one side have looked like scoring in the second half.
BURNLEY SUBSTITUTION: Unfortunately for Ward, his evening has come to an end. It seemed a rather innocuous challenge, but the after-effects are lasting. Ben Mee will slot in at full-back.
A long ball over the top allowed Ings to chase down on goal, but Elliot was quick off his line to get to the ball before the Burnley striker. That's pretty much as good as it's been for the hosts in the second half.
Cisse celebrates his strike which levelled up this contest shortly after the restart...
Credit to Burnley, because they have played some nice football at times this evening. They have just enjoyed a two-minute spell on the ball, but there was no end product at the end of the flowing move. Newcastle don't look like scoring either at the moment, although if I had to bet on one side finding a winner my money would certainly go on the visitors.
NEWCASTLE SUBSTITUTION: Ameobi becomes the latest player to leave the field through injury, with Emmanuel Riviere the man to replace him for the final 15 minutes.
Riviere appears to be playing alongside Cisse up front now, and Newcastle will hope that his movement can help create some chances as we enter the final stretch of the contest. This has been anything but a classic, but neither will mind should they find a second goal.
Ings works the channel well before lofting a ball into a central position into the area of Barnes, but Janmaat was on hand to head behind. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
YELLOW CARD! Stand-in skipper Tiote tries to do too much on the ball and sees possession taken off him by Ings. He handled the ball when down on the ground, which leads to his name entering the referee's book.
A point would certainly not be disastrous for Burnley against the league's in-form side. A draw here would see them climb out of the drop zone as things stand. The Premier League table will look even better tonight should they find a late winner in the final six minutes.
BURNLEY SUBSTITUTION: Jutkiewicz enters the fray late on with Barnes the man to make way for the hosts.
It's Newcastle who are pushing forward in the final few minutes, although they have been unable to carve open any real chances. This one looks to be heading for a 1-1 draw.
Time running out for Newcastle, but it is certainly they who are pressing with more intent. That said, Boyd has just won his side a free kick in a decent crossing position - a late twist, perhaps?
Mee managed to get his head on the ball, but couldn't not guide it goalwards with the chance going begging. Two minutes left to play at Turf Moor.
Newcastle have won themselves a corner, and both centre-backs are up. This will surely be the last chance for either side to find a winner...
Rather incredibly, Abeid's corner doesn't even make its way into the box, curling out of play before making it that far. That really does sum up the Magpies' deliveries from set-pieces this evening. That is surely that.
Or maybe not. Newcastle have one final chance, in the fifth minute of added on time, to test Heaton. A free kick from around 28 yards out awaits...
Cabella opted to float the ball in, instead of shooting, and Burnley easily cleared it away in the end.
FULL TIME: BURNLEY 1-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Referee brings the game to an end, with the sides having to settle for a point apiece. I'm sure both wanted more than that this evening, but in the end a 1-1 draw seems just about the right outcome at Turf Moor.
Results elsewhere tonight ensure that Burnley have done enough to climb out of the bottom three for the time being, while Newcastle drop to 10th. Well that's all from me, but be sure to stick around on Sports Mole as we bring you a full match report, player ratings and analysis from each of this evening's Premier League games.
