Chris Wood vs Wout Weghorst 2021/22 – tactical analysis

In the January transfer window, Burnley FC lost their main goal-scoring threat, Chris Wood, to Newcastle United. The Clarets were left in a terrible position as their then top goal-scorer, Maxwel Cornet, was unavailable due to national duties with Côte dIvoire. Burnley re-invested the £27m for the New Zealand striker on Wolfsburg forward Wout Weghorst. Since playing his first game for Sean Dyche, Weghorst has given many Burnley fans hope for survival this year. In this player analysis, we will see who fits better at Burnley. This will also include a tactical analysis for Burnley to see which player fits Sean Dyches tactics.

Sean Dyches Burnley

If you have ever watched Burnley under Sean Dyche, you will know that Burnley do not play tiki-taka football, and Burnley do not gegenpress. Instead, the tactics at Turf Moor is, in my opinion, a refreshing throw-back to an era gone by. Watch any game, and you will see two banks of four and players playing for the shirt. Direct football, long balls and through passes are all key aspects of Burnleys football.

Through passes

As we can see from the data below, Burnley rank just below Leeds United in terms of through passes per 90 minutes, making The Clarets 7th in the Premier League. Through passes are a great indicator of direct play, and this is because a through pass is when a player passes the ball in front of a teammate for them to run onto. Burnley also has the 5th most successful through passes per 90 out of any Premier League team.

In this example, we can see Burnleys tactics in play against Newcastle United.

Dwight McNeil wins the ball back, and the whole Burnely team know precisely what to do. Matthew Lowton points to Ashley Westwood, circled in green, to play the ball forward. Maxwel Cornet is ready to attack a through ball, even calling for one with his arm gesture.

Westwood then plays the pass