BURNLEY have the look of a club teetering on the brink of crisis and it's hard not to fear for new boss Vincent Kompany as he gears up for a tricky Championship opener at Huddersfield Town.
Whoever took over from the long-serving Sean Dyche was always going to have a tough job but relegation from the Premier League and massive financial troubles have made it even more difficult.
I was surprised when Kompany agreed to take the job after cutting his coaching teeth with Anderlecht last season and the Manchester City legend has been forced into a major overhaul of the Burnley squad.
Dwight McNeill has become the 10th first-team player to have left since relegation and Maxwell Cornet looks set to follow suit after being linked with Nottingham Forrest and Everton.
Most of the players coming in are young, with three arriving from Kompany's old club City, and it's a big ask for them to gel quickly in a league as competitive as the Championship.
Facing Huddersfield away in the opener is a really tough fixture after Town came within a whisker of promotion under Carlos Corberan last term.
They lost in the play-off final at Wembley, helping our man Slips Tips strike it rich again, and conquerors Nottingham Forest added salt to the wound by snapping up Lewis O'Brien and Harry Toffolo this summer.
The departure of boss Corberan earlier this month has rocked their plans for the new campaign but Danny Schofield will bring some stability as his replacement after working under the Spaniard.
A repeat of last term's play-off push might be tough to pull off but Huddersfield have kept most of Corberan's team and should avoid being dragged into trouble.
How the bookies view it
Huddersfield Town are as big as 13/7 with SBK and that looks incredible value given all the upheaval at Burnley. Schofield's side are also 10/11 at Ladbrokes just to win either half. The Clarets are a best 7/4 at Coral for the win while the draw pays 23/10 with Bet365.
Head to head
These teams faced off in the FA Cup last season and it was Huddersfield who came out on top with a 2-1 victory at Turf Moor (below).
But Burnley held the upper hand before that, going seven games unbeaten in this fixture, including a 2-1 triumph on their last visit to the John Smith's Stadium in 2019.
Players to watch
Danny Ward was Huddersfield's main man up front last term, netting 14 times, and that looks set to continue in the campaign. The striker is 11/4 with Bet365 for anytime scorer and that looks a bit overpriced.
Ashley Barnes is one of the few starters from last season still at Burnley as the new campaign kicks off. The veteran striker is 43/20 with Unibet to get off the mark in the season opener.
Anything else catch the eye?
Burnley have lost the spine of their defence this summer with keeper Nick Pope joining Newcastle and stoppers Ben Mee and James Tarkowski also moving on.
It will take time for the new backline to get used to each other so I like the look of over 2.5 match goals at 23/20 with Ladbrokes. Over 1.5 Huddersfield strikes also appeals at 17/10 with Unibet.
We saw 15 corners when these teams met in the FA Cup last term, although both teams have changed managers since then. However, I still like the look of over 10.5 corners at evens with Bet365.
This England Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Burnley will be played on Jul 29, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Huddersfield Town vs Burnley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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