“Burnley are a difficult team to play against,” he said in his pre-match press conference, “because they’re very well organised, they have their game plan and they always execute it so well.
“All the players stick to the game plan and do the things that the coach asks of them. They’ve been doing it for a long time and they have great confidence in it, and it has given them good results.
“We prepare for the game the best we can, so we understand that we have to give our best, and if we make mistakes or don’t do the things we plan to do, we could find ourselves having a very difficult afternoon.”
Hodgson acknowledged that Burnley’s defensive record posed a challenge.
“It’s always hard to score goals against Burnley. That’s why they do so well in the league. If you’re so good defensively you’ve always got a chance, because if you keep the game at 0-0, all you need is a goal and you get all three points.
“We’re capable of scoring goals, and we have the type of players and performances that lead to goalscoring chances.”
The manager was pleased that Ray Lewington will return to the touchline this weekend, after recovering from the COVID-19.
“He’s back now,” he said. “He’s full of beans and full of life, and very happy to be back after his imposed isolation. We’ll be benefitting from his knowledge and benefitting from his enthusiasm on the touchline.
“I’m sure he’ll be helping me bark out any orders that need to be barked out.”
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