Lancashire

Is there a more wholesome sight than one of your players flying into a tackle?

For all the creativity, smart finishing and wonder goals the Premier League can offer, few such joys would be possible were it not for those feisty fellows charging around to win the ball back for the cause.

This season, those in the graphic above top the charts for putting their foot in.

Tottenham's Joao Palhinha was seemingly born in a pair of shinpads and primed to launch in on someone, while Everton's James Garner continues to impress this season in various areas of his game - underlining why talk of an England call-up continues.

Keep an eye out for these men this weekend. Their opponents will almost certainly end up seeing more of them than they'd bargained for.

Southampton are facing a battle to hold on to defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis with Burnley interested in re-signing the 23-year-old who spent a season-long loan with the Clarets from Manchester City for the 2022-23 campaign. (Four-Four-Two), external

Read all the latest EFL transfer rumours in Friday's gossip column here.

Watch Burnley boss Scott Parker's news conference before Saturday's Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur (15:00 GMT kick-off).

BBC Radio Lancashire have commentary of the game on 95.5FM with Scott Read and Glen Little.

Middlesbrough have the chance to cut Coventry's lead to three points with a win over Preston on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Boro are looking to record four successive league wins for the second time this season.

Preston's promotion challenge is wobbling on the back of successive home defeats by Derby and Hull City in which they have failed to score but they did win their last away game, 2-0 at Bristol City.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten across their past three home league games against Preston North End (W2 D1), netting nine goals in those matches. Since the start of 2022-23, it is the most goals they've scored on home soil against any side in the Championship.

• Preston North End are unbeaten across their past four league games against Middlesbrough (W2 D2), while they last enjoyed a longer unbeaten run in this fixture between December 1951 and December 1953 (five games).

• Following a 4-0 win against Southampton earlier this month, Middlesbrough are looking to record a clean sheet in consecutive home league games for the first time since their first two at the Riverside this season.

• Preston have lost their past two league games, though both have come at home. They last lost more consecutively in April last season (4).

• Morgan Whittaker has scored six goals in 12 home league appearances for Middlesbrough this season. That is at least three times as many as any of his team-mates at the Riverside (two for David Strelec, Hayden Hackney, Tommy Conway and Dael Fry).

Grace Wheeler
BBC Sport

Burnley boss Scott Parker has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor (kick-off 15:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• The manager updated the media on his team news with injury updates to Zian Flemming and Joe Worrall: "Both have been training this week. Zian was later in terms of retuning, so we will make a call closer to the game. He was in training yesterday but has had a down day today so we will make a call. Everyone else is fit and ready."

• Parker didn't want to specifically say his plans for the rest of the January transfer window but he did say: "We are active and trying to do things. There are loads of things that fall in to play and variables to make a good/right decision."

• He was asked if he can inform the media of the players that could leave Burnley, like Oliver Sonne: "He could move and there could be an option there and for a few players with lack of game time. We will see what we can do."

• He added: "There is a 25-man squad and it's filled so there is decisions to be made. If someone goes then there are decisions that are going to arise if there is one."

• He was asked if the pressure Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has come under affects him and his team: "It doesn't change any dynamic, every week you come into a game and every manager will come under pressure. For us it doesn't change anything and it is not something we are going to focus on."

• Parker commented on if he has seen Marcus Edwards improve recently: "I have seen a spring over the last few weeks. When players don't get game time you see different habits. He has been superb and has been given the opportunity. His general performance all round has been brilliant since coming back into the team. I am really pleased for him."

• The boss commented on if he is surprised at Bashir Humphreys' success: "I haven't been surprised. It's his first year at the Premier League level and coming off a long term injury. I am not surprised because of what I see every day and the quality he has as a man. He has been really good for us."

• Parker was asked about his Burnley's progression throughout the season: "I think the first game of the season was a shock to us, we were a young team. It was an eye opener for players and we showed that in our game. The team have developed and learnt and we have shown that throughout the season. A lot of learning has been done."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to Burnley v Tottenham on BBC Radio 5 Live from 15:00

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

From the Premier League's elite to the soggy pitches of Sunday league, injuries are part and parcel of football - but which top-flight teams have been worst affected so far this season?

With help from injury expert Ben Dinnery, of premierinjuries.com,, external BBC Sport has examined which sides have been hit the hardest, the impact injuries can have on under-fire managers - and whether things are always as bad as they seem.

• Read more detail on how clubs have been affected by injuries here

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lisandro Martinez's goal for Manchester United at Burnley earlier this month should not have been ruled out by referee Stuart Attwell, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has said.

However, the KMI Panel supported the decision of VAR official Craig Pawson not to intervene and give the goal.

United trailed 1-0 in the 27th minute when Martinez thought he had equalised from a corner routine. The referee blew for a foul by the scorer on Kyle Walker which happened a few seconds before the goal.

The KMI Panel voted 3-2 that it was not a foul and it should have been a goal on-field. But it was a 4-1 vote in favour of no VAR intervention.

The panel felt that "the contact was exaggerated by Walker and the decision to disallow the goal for a foul was incorrect".

It added: "The decision not to intervene by VAR was split but supported on the basis it wasn't a clear and obvious error."

Walker's challenge on Patrick Dorgu, where the Manchester United defender appeared to be stood on, was not considered to be at the threshold for a KMI.

The game at Turf Moor finished 2-2.