Burnley: Scott Parker facing Portsmouth selection headache on Leeds United evidence - View | OneFootball

After an eye-catching display from new Zian Flemming against Leeds, Scott Parker faces a selection headache this weekend

Burnley produced one of the most eye-catching performances of the last Championship round, winning 1-0 away to fellow promotion hopefuls Leeds United.

But with that victory comes a selection headache for boss Scott Parker, who welcomes back Lyle Foster from an illness which forced him to miss out at Elland Road last weekend.

New recruit Zian Flemming was handed a debut in his place, and having turned in an eye-catching performance of his own, Parker now has to decide whether he brings Foster back into the fold or he elects not to tamper with a winning team and leaves Flemming to play the 9 role.

Portsmouth are the visitors to Turf Moor on Saturday in what is their first home game in three weeks for the Clarets, and with two divisions separating the sides last season, there's an element of expectation that Burnley should get the job done.

Flemming's role v Leeds

Flemming was utilised in the 9 role against Leeds - a role he showed he's more than capable of playing, but also one most Championship fans would acknowledge isn't his usual position.

The former Millwall man ran the channels well and his hold-up play was to be admired, particularly for a man who sat out most of pre-season with injury, so has barely kicked a ball in anger since May.

It was certainly a great surprise to see him play 90 minutes last weekend, which would hint he's a top-class professional off the pitch and has looked after himself to the highest possible degree in his injury lay-off.

The old footballing adage would say you can't change a winning team, and if Parker goes down that route, then Flemming would keep his place at the expense of Foster.

Most Burnley fans would acknowledge that would be a little harsh on Foster, who made an impressive start to the season under the new manager, and most believed he would be the club's 9 whenever fit.

Naturally, it was unfortunate on his part that he picked up an illness on international break, and there's an argument to be mad that he should regain his spot on the basis that he never truly did anything to lose it in the first place.

What are Parker's selection choices when Portsmouth come to Turf Moor?

Fortunately for Parker he's blessed with a large squad, which gives him several selection options. But with that comes the pressure of keeping top players happy, and as he can only select 11 to go to combat on Saturday, that's ultimately a thankless task.

His first, and most obvious answer, is to do nothing and not change a winning team (aside from the suspended Bashir Humphreys) - something few Burnley fans could argue with, though it's hard to see this being the case.

Alternatively, he could bring Foster back in for Flemming and drop his marquee summer signing down to the bench, although this seems the most unlikely scenario given the goalscoring pedigree the Dutchman brings with him.

With the nature of this game, and Portsmouth being likely to sit in and make things difficult for Burnley, Parker needs players on the pitch who can unlock doors, and Flemming is one of those players, more so than Foster.

With Parker's preferred 4-2-3-1 system, he does have the potential to get both of his frontmen on the pitch, with Flemming's strongest position arguably coming as a 10.

But if he does choose to do this, then he'll have to break up a midfield trio of Josh Laurent, Josh Brownhill and Hannibal Mejbri that has started the last two games, so he risks upsetting the balance of the team.

It's an unenviable decision for Parker to make against Portsmouth, but with the embarrassment of riches at his disposal, it's one that will make other Championship managers look on with envy.