Early Burnley team news ahead of Leeds ft Connor Roberts and Zian Flemming updates | OneFootball

Burnley travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Saturday

Burnley travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Saturday afternoon in a fixture between two of the division's heavyweights.

Both sides will be aiming to win automatic promotion this season, and despite it being early days in the 2024/25 campaign, the result at Elland Road could tell us a lot about where the two sides are expected to finish.

Burnley will be looking to record a statement win come Saturday afternoon, and Scott Parker's side need to get back on track after picking up just one point from their last two games.

The Clarets made an excellent start to the season but have somewhat faltered in recent weeks, while Leeds made a slow start but have found form in recent weeks.

It's got all the hallmarks of a classic Championship fixture, so with that in mind, here is the early Burnley team news.

Burnley could be without Connor Roberts for their trip to Leeds United

Right-back Connor Roberts has played the full 90 minutes in all four of Burnley's Championship fixtures this season, but he's a doubt for their trip to Elland Road after leaving the pitch holding his arm in Wales' Nations League victory over Montenegro on Monday night.

Speaking to The Burnley Express, Parker said: "We’ve assessed him, and it doesn’t seem as bad as we initially thought.

"He had an awareness and came out of the game pretty quickly. We were just trying to work out whether it was a general over fatigue and tiredness, but again we will re-assess and give ourselves every opportunity for him to try and make Saturday."

Roberts will be hoping he's fit to face the side he spent time on loan with last season, but he's not the Clarets' only injury concern.

Manuel Benson will be ruled out for "a number of weeks, maybe months", according to Parker, after he limped off in their recent draw with Blackburn Rovers.

Parker said: "Benny has got a bit of a big injury, so he won’t be around for a number of weeks, maybe months. "That’s the big disappointment from the [Blackburn] game regarding Benny in that sense, having come on, but hopefully, he can recover as quickly as possible, but we won’t be seeing him for a little while."

Meanwhile, Maxime Esteve could be fit for the trip to Leeds despite being forced off against Blackburn, with Parker telling the press “Maxime is okay."

Josh Cullen hasn't featured since the 17th August and didn't report for international duty with the Republic of Ireland, but could potentially be in line to feature. Parker said: “We need to work out if this weekend comes a bit too early for him”, so it seems as if he's set for a return in the near future.

Long-term absentees Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei and Nathan Redmond are still sidelined, so Burnley will be far from full strength for their trip to Elland Road.

Despite their injury woes, there is some positive news for Burnley fans as Zian Flemming could well make his debut for the club.

Flemming joined the club on a season-long loan from Millwall at the end of the transfer window and was unable to feature in the derby against Blackburn as he'd been signed too late, but the trip to Elland Road could provide him with the chance to make his debut.

The Dutchman has been a player the Clarets have admired for some time, after being linked with him last summer, but they have finally got their man this time around.

Flemming has scored 22 goals and registered eight assists in 89 Championship appearances, and he'll be looking to hit the ground running with his new club.