Sunderland v Burnley: Three key dangermen in Vincent Kompany’s revitalised side

Championship leaders Burnley are set to pose Sunderland at least three major threats when they arrive at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Having not played them in three years, the Black Cats may not recognise the Clarets – renowned as a team of grinders – under Vincent Kompany, who has transformed them in terms of both style as well as personnel.

But what aspects of Kompany’s Turf Moor revolution pose the biggest challenge to Sunderland on Saturday at the Stadium of Light?

Here, we pick out three key areas of strength for Burnley under Belgian rule.

Possession is still nine-tenths of the law?

There is little doubt Kompany has adopted styles of football from his previous managers such as Pep Guardiola at Turf Moor, and his Burnley team have taken to their new style superbly.

One of Kompany’s first major signings was his former Anderlecht player, Josh Cullen. The Irish midfielder will be a real threat to Sunderland as he sits deep in a no6 role, keeping the play ticking along and occasionally breaking the lines with a forward pass.

The Clarets have kept at least 60% possession in 10 of their Championship games so far this season, and Cullen is key to that statistic.

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray will hope the likes of Elliot Embleton can ensure Cullen does not dictate the game at the Stadium of Light.

Kompany’s defensive protégé

Using his obvious links to the Etihad Stadium, Kompany’s capture on loan of young centre-half Taylor Harwood-Bellis has paid off handsomely.

This summer’s departures of defensive stalwarts James Tarkowski, Ben Mee and Nathan Collins left Burnley fans fearing they would become a soft touch on their return to the Championship.

But Kompany - regarded as one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history - has drawn a series of assured performances from England Under-21 international Harwood-Bellis.

The loanee has featured in all of Burnley’s games this season, and it remains to be seen if Mowbray is forced to field a makeshift strikeforce against him, or welcome back his own loanee, Ellis Simms, from injury.

Simms scored against Harwood-Bellis in their only previous meeting – for Everton U23s against Manchester City U23s in October 2020.

Dynamic goal-scoring duo

Veteran Jay Rodriguez alone will pose real dangers to Sunderland’s defence, but it is his partnership with another loan signing, Nathan Tella, which has really fired Burnley’s charge up the Championship.

While only two players in the division have bettered Rodriguez’s seven so far, Tella – loaned from Southampton – has chipped in with five to form the division’s deadliest double act.

While Rodriguez, at 33, simply had too much nous for Swansea last weekend, scoring twice in a 4-0 win, Tella’s blistering pace is an equal threat.

For Sunderland, the increasingly dominant Danny Batth and a confident Dennis Cirkin will have a key role to play to keep the Burnley duo quiet.