The 6 players Burnley could be without for Portsmouth Championship fixture at Fratton Park

The Clarets are Pompey’s next opponents, and they will be a stern test. They played to a goalless draw with promotion rivals Leeds United on Monday night, and are just a point off the automatic promotion places.

Scott Parker's men have yet to lose this year and their unbeaten run stretches to 17 matches with their last defeat coming against Millwall in early November. When the two sides met in September, there was only one goal that separated them at Turf Moor. Callum Lang put Pompey in front but Jeremy Sarmiento equalised and then in the fourth minute of added on time, Josh Brownhill scored the decisive goal.

Four months on and the squads are looking a little different. Pompey have been proactive in the market this month, signing Isaac Hayden and Rob Atkinson on loan from Newcastle United and Bristol City. They have also recruited Thomas Waddingham and Hayden Matthews from Brisbane Roar and Sydney.

Another signing could be through the door before Saturday with Cohen Bramall looking to be on his way after a bid was accepted by Rotherham United. Bramall’s imminent arrival is probably needed as there’s a lack of cover there because of Jacob Farrell’s season ending injury. Pompey have had their fair share of injury problems this season, as have Burnley and ahead of this weekend’s meeting, they could be without up to six players.

Burnley team news

Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei, Jordan Beyer, Manuel Benson and Nathan Redmond are all expected to miss out according to our sister paper the Burnley Express. Ramsey was spotted back on the grass in September, but is still someway off a return after suffering a serious knee injury last February. At the start of the month, Parker said he was 'progressing' but that a return wasn't imminent.

Nathan Redmond, subject of transfer interest from his former club Birmingham City this month, is out for a couple more weeks. He suffered a setback in training with a calf injury after recently making a return to the squad.

Enock Agyei hasn't played too much football this term, making just three appearances. He last appeared for the Lancashire outfit against Swansea City in mid-November. The last time he was in a match-day squad was mid-December, and right now he's nursing an injury.

Manuel Benson is a long-term absentee but is making progress having returned to training. He suffered a calf/achilles injury against Blackburn Rovers in August and is unlikely to be match fit.

Centre-back Jordan Beyer is another player that has had a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Similar to Benson, he's returned to training, but he's not played a game since December 2023. He required two operations for a meniscus (knee) injury.

Former Liverpool and Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey joined 10 days ago but is still yet to make an appearance. Explaining why he hadn't played yet, his manager said he would need to work on his match sharpness before being considered for selection.

'He probably just needs a little bit more training time on the grass,' said Parker to the Burnley Express.

'He's been with us now for 10 days, but he’s probably just not ready at this present moment in time and needs some more training.'

Transfer business at Burnley

This month, Burnley have signed three players, all on a permanent basis. They announced the signing of Oliver Sonne for an undisclosed fee from Silkeborg on New Year's Eve. The Peruvian right-back has since gone on to make one league appearance.

Another arrival was Ashley Barnes, who was returning for a second stint at Burnley. He was allowed to leave Norwich City on a free transfer and he headed to the club in which he won promotion three times with. Like Sone, he's only made one appearance for Burnley since joining, but at least he was on the bench for the other three matches. Jonjo Shelvey joined on a free transfer but is waiting his debut.

As for outgoings, Benn Ward was sold to League Two side Accrington Stanley for an undisclosed fee. Han-Noah Massengo, Andréas Hountondji, Michael Mellon, and Owen Dodgson have secured loan moves to Auxerre, Standard Liege, Bradford City, and Burton Albion.

Burnley have also loaned out Hjalmar Ekdal to Gronigen, Joe Westley has headed to Swindon Town, and Hannes Delcroix signed with Swansea City until the end of the season.