Defensive Player of the Week

22nd October 2009By: Ian Hart

With a 100% home record to maintain, Andre Bikey will look to dominate the midfield again when Wigan come to town

To call Burnley a topsy-turvy team would be a massive understatement as their unbeaten home record likes in stark contrast to their winless streak on the road.

They are shipping goals away from Turf Moor so it's perhaps a surprise to see a Burnley defensive player, in the form of Andre Bikey, selected this week.

To explain this you just need to study the fixture list, where you will see Burnley have a home game this weekend, and then look at The Claret's home record.

Owen Coyle's men have played four games at home, won them all and only conceded two goals.

Much of the defence were with Burnley when they achieved promotion, bar the summer arrivals of Bikey and Tyrone Mears.

Bikey, who arrived from Reading, was undoubtedly signed as a centre-back but in recent weeks Coyle has opted to use his tacking abilities to break up the place in the centre of midfield.

He won't have been expecting the Cameroon international to power through the Birmingham defence and slot in the winning goal but will no doubt have been pleasantly surprised when it happened.

Burnley may have lost, as was to be expected in a game away from home, last time out when Coyle repeated the experiment but he is likely to stick with Bikey in a more advanced role for the time being.

Wigan are the visitors this weekend and like Burnley they have had an up and down start to the season.

Victories against Aston Villa and Chelsea stand-out in a very different way to the thrashings at the hands of Manchester United and Arsenal.

The Latics are without a win on the road themselves since the opening day, and Burnley will be looking to keep their 100% home record intact on Saturday.

So while it's not recommended fielding Bikey in your Fantasy League team for an away game, he is worth a punt at home for attacking and defensive points.

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