Lancashire

Burnley manager Scott Parker to BBC Match of the Day: "I don't think I can remotely even contemplate speaking about the negatives really. The positives in terms of our reaction, three goals down, the fight, the spirit to get back into the game, two goals disallowed by the finest of margins were defining for us.

"I'm probably more sad than disappointed. I'm sad for the group. It takes a certain type to be in that arena at half-time, at times your own supporters being hugely critical of you, and to come out and show the spirit and stand up to the challenge we faced today, not just from Brentford but from the whole atmosphere, I'm hugely proud of this team."

On the atmosphere at half-time: "There was a mixed tone really, there were some harsh words. In the first half we played soft. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb. We changed things tactically and it worked very well in the second half. At that moment the balance of the atmosphere from a young squad that were probably hurting at that moment from the general reaction, which of course we understand. Our reaction was superb really.

"It was [hard to go through]. I think I've been around since VAR came in and I've had strong views about VAR. In the modern day we want perfection. Of course there's elements of it is what it is. I've not seen it back but offside is offside and if it's handball it's handball.

"It was heartbreaking for us really because we deserved that. Second half we were incredible. To score five goals in 60 minutes it's full credit to us really.

"VAR and the fine margins of technology to the inch of a sleeve calling something offside is the game of football we live in now. So we accept that. That's the way it is."

Did you know?

• Burnley lost a Premier League game having scored three or more goals for just the second time, also doing so in November 2009 with a 5-3 defeat by West Ham.

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley were denied a memorable point after they were beaten 4-3 by Brentford in a memorable Premier League game at Turf Moor.

After coming back from 3-0 down, Burnley went behind again through Mikkel Damsgaard's 93rd-minute goal before the Clarets had an Ashley Barnes goal ruled out for handball following a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check.

The Clarets had gone into this fixture with recent results offering them fresh hopes of survival.

The thrilling comeback win against Crystal Palace and the point salvaged against 10-man Chelsea last week would have injected some belief back into a dressing room that has suffered many setbacks this season.

Though they were ultimately denied a precious point in the relegation battle by the visitors on Saturday, the fighting performance gave manager Scott Parker and his players more evidence that there is still some hope to cling on to.

They could find themselves 11 points off safety if 17th-placed Nottingham Forest win at Brighton on Sunday, but there were signs that the Clarets can still have their say in the relegation scrap.

Jaidon Anthony was Burnley's most threatening player, twice going close from distance in the early stages before playing the starring role in an improbable comeback.

He struck his seventh goal of the season before Zian Flemming matched that mark, adding to his late heroics at Stamford Bridge last weekend, while Hannibal Mejbri's energy in midfield set the tone for their fightback.

For all the disappointment of the manner of the defeat, Parker's team showed the character, courage and intensity that could give them a chance as they approach the run‑in.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Burnley's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Burnley boss Scott Parker makes three changes following the 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

Lucas Pires, James Ward-Prowse and Jacob Bruun Larsen start as Lesley Ugochukwu and Kyle Walker drop to bench and Marcus Edwards misses out.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Esteve, Worrall, Laurent, Humphreys, Pires, Mejbri, Ward-Prowse, Anthony, Larsen, Flemming.

Subs: Weiss, Walker, Hartman, Ugochukwu, Foster, Florentino, Tchaouna, Ekdal, Barnes.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews makes five changes from the 2-0 defeat by Brighton.

Defender Michael Kayode returns from injury to take Aaron Hickey's place while Hakon Valdimarsson replaces Caoimhín Kelleher in goal. Mikkel Damsgaard, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Kevin Schade also return to the Bees starting line-up.

Brentford XI: Valdimarsson, Henry, Van den Berg, Schade, Jensen, Thiago, Yarmoliuk, Ouattara, Ajer, Damsgaard, Kayode.

Subs: Balcombe, Pinnock, Henderson, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Donovan, Furo, Bentt, Shield.

Image source, BBC Sport

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Bournemouth v Sunderland (12:30)

• Burnley v Brentford

• Liverpool v West Ham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Leeds v Manchester City (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v West Ham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Everton", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Burnley are still competitive, still scrapping and still picking up points. Their players are still playing for Scott Parker but, even so, it's still not going to be enough to keep them up.

The Clarets' draw at Chelsea last week was a good result and they could even have won that game, too, but they didn't. That lack of wins has been their problem all season, not their performances.

They have only won four of their 27 games so far and I think they are going to need to win five of their final 11 to stay up from here - and that's not going to happen.

I don't think anyone saw Brentford's home defeat by Brighton coming last week - I didn't anyway - but I am still going to back them at Turf Moor.

It's going to be another tight one but I can see Igor Thiago getting back on the scoresheet with the winner. That's as exact as predictions can get.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

After a slip against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, surprise European hopefuls Brentford will be looking to get back on track when they visit relegation-threatened Burnley on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in the Premier League.

Despite the 2-0 defeat, Brentford are still in seventh spot in the table. There are seven teams within five points of Keith Andrews' side, though, meaning the congested mid-table could be mixed up significantly in the coming weeks.

As for Burnley, they need a huge upturn in form to pull themselves out of trouble. They are fighting, though, as evidenced by their last-gasp equaliser at Chelsea last weekend.

Clarets continue to fight

The draw at Stamford Bridge means Burnley are eight points away from safety and, while that does look to be a mountain to climb, there is some historical precedent for a team getting themselves out of a similar hole.

Portsmouth managed to survive in 2005–06 when they were eight points from safety with 11 games to play. West Bromwich Albion also did so in 2004–05, albeit they had two games in hand on their relegation rivals.

The Burnley players still seem to believe, too. That much was evident at Chelsea and in the previous Premier League fixture, when they bounced back from 2-0 down at Crystal Palace to win 3-2.

In fact, since their 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United, no team in the division has earned more points from losing positions than Scott Parker's side.

In their past 11 league games, Burnley have lost only four. Crucially, though, they have won just one. If they are to mirror the heroics of Portsmouth from 19 years ago, that is something they will need to remedy in the remaining weeks of the campaign.

Open encounter could suit the Bees

If Burnley are going to go on the front foot in search of wins and potentially leave space to be exploited on the counter-attack, that could suit Brentford and the way they play. Only Chelsea have scored more than Brentford's five goals this season from direct attacks.

Brentford have also put together the fewest build-ups - defined by Opta as an open-play sequence that contains 10 or more passes and either ends in a shot or has at least one touch in the box - in the league this season. The Bees have just 19, while Manchester City lead the way with 138.

Burnley are second-lowest in that category, and the numbers seem to suggest that this fixture could be one where the ball changes hands frequently.

Burnley (14.7%) and Brentford (14.5%) are the two teams with the highest long-pass percentage in the Premier League this season. Indeed, Burnley made 79 long passes in this season's reverse fixture between these two sides - the most by any team in a game in 2025–26.

The style has undoubtedly worked for Brentford and their star forward, Igor Thiago, who has plundered 17 goals already this season in the Premier League.

The Brazilian has hit his worst spell of the campaign heading into this fixture, though. Since scoring five goals in two games against Everton and then Sunderland earlier this year, Thiago's only strike in his last six games was a penalty in the away win at Newcastle United.

Preston North End cannot afford to look back at missed opportunities this season, according to assistant-boss Stuart McCall.

The Lilywhites have won just one of their past eight Championship matches to fall five points outside the play-off places as they prepare to meet third-placed Millwall on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Preston conceded a stoppage-time equaliser at Swansea on Tuesday having lost in similar fashion to Blackburn Rovers last Friday.

"A couple of wins and you're right back up there," McCall told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"If we hadn't lost the goals like we did in the last two games we'd be seventh but seventh or 12th or 14th there's hardly anything in it."

North End's only league win at home since beating Sheffield Wednesday on New Year's Day is a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth three weeks ago and McCall says that game could also have gone either way.

"There's very little in a lot of games, a bad decision from you own side, a referee or whatever it might be, it's really tight and you need those little moments to go your way," he added.

"You've got to stick at it. It's no good looking back, we try to learn from what we've done and not done recently and forge on to the next game which is Millwall."

Preston will still be without first-choice goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for the game at Deepdale as he continues his recovery from a groin injury which has kept him out since the FA Cup loss to Wigan on 9 January.

Listen to more Preston North End interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

Millwall's 3-0 win over Birmingham City on Wednesday moved them back into third place in the Championship, but they start a tough run of away games at Deepdale.

The Lions also still have to go to Hull City, Ipswich and Middlesbrough over the course of the next six weeks.

Preston's run of one win from their past six games means they have slipped five points off the top-six pace.

• Preston are winless in their past 13 league games against Millwall (D6 L7) since a 3-1 win in February 2019.

• Millwall have lost just two of their past 12 away league games against Preston (W4 D6) and are unbeaten in their last six visits to Deepdale (W3 D3).

• Having won five of their first eight home league games this season (D2 L1), Preston have won just two of their past nine at Deepdale (D4 L3).

• Millwall have won their past two away league games, last winning more consecutively between January and March 2018 (six).

• Millwall's Femi Azeez has been involved in a goal in each of his past four away appearances in the Championship, providing an assist in each of the last three (one goal).