Scott Parker hails "brilliant" Leeds United man with Whites attacker assessment and Burnley 'need'
Scott Parker’s Burnley side welcome Leeds United in the first game back after the international break.
Burnley boss Scott Parker has hailed a “brilliant” key Leeds United figure with a Whites attacker assessment ahead of Saturday’s Premier League showdown at Turf Moor.
Leeds and Burnley went toe-to-toe for last season’s Championship title and the two clubs will meet for the first time since both were promoted in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off.
Daniel Farke’s Whites beat Burnley to last season’s Championship crown on goal difference and Leeds have the upper hand after seven games of the new Premier League season in sitting 15th, four points and three places higher than third-bottom Burnley.
United’s team will feature several new faces to the ones Burnley came up against last season and Parker feels the addition of England-capped striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has added a “focal point” to the Whites attack.
Parker, though, assessing what Burnley were coming up against, began his Whites assessment with praise for “brilliant” Whites boss Daniel Farke and his work which Parker says can clearly be seen in his third year in charge.
Speaking at Thursday afternoon’s pre-match press conference, Parker was asked what he had made of Leeds in the Premier League and the addition of striker Calvert-Lewin.
“More of a focal point for them”
“I think firstly they’re a very good team. We experienced that last year,” said Parker.
“They’re a top, top team that have a lot of quality and a good intensity about their game, with a brilliant manager who has been in there some time now, and you can see that.
“There’s definitely little changes to them and Calvert-Lewin is more of a focal point for them.
"But I think for the majority of it and for the team that Leeds are, we are going to see similarities of what we faced last year.”
Declaring Burnley’s “need” to continue their strong home form, Parker went on: “We've been strong at home last year, we've been strong at home this year, hugely competitive. We need to continue that.
"Our home form will be vital for us in terms of being successful so we are looking forward in front of our home fans to putting in a performance and hopefully getting the three points."