Burnley

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Unsworth signs Burnley deal

Burnley have completed the signing of veteran defender David Unsworth on a free transfer.

Unsworth has agreed a one-year contract with The Clarets and could make his debut in Tuesday's Carling Cup tie with Grimsby Town.

The former England international had been released by Wigan Athletic at the end of last season after scoring the goal which kept the club in the Premier League.

He was linked with Burnley's Championship rivals Stoke City, but has opted to link up with Steve Cotterill's side.

Cotterill confirmed after his team's 2-1 win over West Brom on Saturday that he would be adding Unsworth to his squad.

The Burnley boss expects the 33-year-old to be short of fitness, but is looking for the ex-Everton stopper to put his experience to good use.

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Qualifies to Carling Cup 2nd round:

Grimsby 1 - 1 Burnley (Burnley won 4-2 after penalties)
G: North (101) B: Gray (108)

Burnley:
Brian Jensen
David Unsworth *
Michael Duff
Stephen Foster
Stephen Jordan
James O'Connor
John Spicer
Ade Akinbiyi **
Kyle Lafferty ***
Steve Jones
Alan Mahon

Subs:
Jon Harley (90) *
Robbie Blake (63) ***
Andy Gray (64) **

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Scunthorpe v Burnley Preview

Scunthorpe could be without Izzy Iriekpen for their first home Championship game against Burnley, but full-back Marcus Williams has shaken off a knock and will be included in the squad.

Andy Butler will step up if Iriekpen fails to make it, while manager Nigel Adkins is expected to recall goalkeeper Joe Murphy after giving Josh Lillis a run-out in midweek.

Clarke Carlisle could go straight into the Burnley squad for the trip to Scunthorpe following his £200,000 move from Watford.

Steve Cotterill is also expected to bring back the likes of Gabor Kiraly, Andy Gray and Robbie Blake after resting them for the match with Grimsby in midweek.

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Burnley v QPR match preview

Burnley are hoping captain Steve Caldwell will be fit to return after suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season against West Brom.

Goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly is an injury doubt for the Clarets after he suffered a dead leg in the defeat by Scunthorpe last time out.

QPR left-back Chris Barker is finally available for selection following his summer move from Cardiff after completing his four-match suspension.

Ben Sahar remains unavailable despite returning to training following his appendix operation while Ray Jones (ankle), Gareth Ainsworth (ankle), Pat Kanyuka (thigh) and Simon Walton (fibula) are all out.

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Burnley v Oldham Carling cup match preview

Burnley manager Steve Cotterill is without promising forward Kyle Lafferty after the Northern Ireland international was handed a three-game ban following his dismissal in a pre-season friendly.

There are doubts over Albanian winger Besart Berisha (knee), goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly (thigh) and skipper Steve Caldwell (hamstring).

Oldham have a lengthy list of absentees, which includes Australian international Neil Kilkenny (thigh), Stefan Stam (hamstring), Lewis Alessandra (foot), Stuart Giddings (ankle) and Neil Wood (knee).

Mark Allott is a doubt after picking up a thigh injury in Saturday's defeat to Bristol Rovers. However Ryan Bertrand is expected to start, while Les Pogliacomi and Kelvin Lomax are both pushing for first-team spots.

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Burnley 3 Oldham 0

Andy Gray found the target after 59 minutes to break the deadlock, before Robbie Blake struck in the 76th minute and Ade Akinbiyi in the 90th to secure Burnley's place in the draw for the third round.

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Burnley fear summer signing Besart Berisha could be out for six weeks with a knee injury. Berisha has yet to make his debut since joining the club from Hamburg, and it could be October before he is ready to pull on a Burnley shirt. He played for Albania last week against Malta and scored in his country's 3-0 friendly win. But his appearance came at a price as the attacker picked up a knee injury, which has put his Burnley bow on hold.

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Burnley are on the verge of signing Preston North End's Graham Alexander for £200,000 on a two-year deal.

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Clarets seal Alexander deal

Burnley have raided North West neighbours Preston for defender Graham Alexander.

The experienced full-back, who can also operate in midfield, celebrated his 400th Preston appearance last weekend against Coventry.

It proved to be his last though, for on Wednesday the two clubs concurred on an initial £100,000 fee with a further £100,000 to be paid next summer.

Clarets boss Steve Cotterill is confident the 35-year-old will prove to be a valuable addition to his playing ranks.

"We agreed a fee with Preston on Wednesday night but I feel we'll get more than a right-back in Graham," says Cotterill.

"He can play well in midfield and it will depend on who we are playing against and where as to where Graham may play in the team."

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Burnley chairman Barry Kilby is delighted to have kept Kyle Lafferty at Turf Moor. Fulham were interested in the Northern Ireland striker over the summer but Burnley insisted he was not for sale and their stance never changed. Kilby believes selling Lafferty would have been at odds with Burnley's ambition of securing promotion to the Premier League. He admits Burnley would have been forced to do business if their financial position had not been so strong, but maintains the club can now afford to keep their best players.

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Burnley v Blackpool preview

Burnley's Besart Berisha has been ruled out for the entire season with the knee injury he sustained on international duty for Albania last month.

Kyle Lafferty serves the final game of a three-match ban, while Jay Rodriguez and Gabor Kiraly are doubtful due to injury.

Blackpool boss Simon Grayson faces an anxious wait to see if Latvian defender Kaspars Gorkss came through Wednesday's match against Spain unscathed.

Phil Marsh missed a midweek reserve match with a slight thigh strain, but Andy Welsh did feature and will be available.

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Burnley's Besart Berisha has been ruled out for the entire season with the knee injury he sustained on international duty for Albania last month.

God damn.

I feel really, really sorry for the dude.

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Burnley - Blackpool 2-2

1-0 52 min. Jones
1-1 73 min. Hoolahan [pen]
2-1 86 min. Akinbiyi
2-2 90 min. Morrell

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Burnley midfielder Garreth O'Connor would be happy to remain on loan at Bournemouth after his current stay is complete. The 28-year-old has two weeks left at the Cherries, but has spent most of his loan spell with them on the sidelines. He has been suffering from a thigh injury, but still wants to make his mark at the club where he spent five years earlier in his career

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Burnley v Crystal Palace match preview

Andy Gray is set to return to the Burnley side after recovering from a foot infection, but Chris McCann is doubtful with a hamstring injury.

Burnley set up in a 4-1-4-1 formation in the Carling Cup defeat to Portsmouth but Robbie Blake may be recalled if Steve Cotterill chooses to revert to two up front.

Crystal Palace striker Dougie Freedman has been ruled out with a groin injury, while midfielder Mark Kennedy (calf) is also sidelined.

Paul Ifill (hamstring) is still not fit to return to action as Palace seek their first win on the road since the opening day of the season.