Lancashire

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Vitor Matos believes 39-year-old Jamie Vardy is still capable of making a mark in the Championship as the former England striker eyes a Burnley debut at Swansea City.

Vardy is set to be named in the Clarets squad to visit the Swansea.com Stadium, having joined Burnley this week after departing Italian club Cremonese.

And Swansea head coach Matos believes the former Leicester City frontman, who scored 200 goals in 500 Foxes appearances, still has the tools to thrive in the second tier.

"He is someone who understands how to score goals," said Matos, who is 14 months younger than Vardy.

"He moves really well - he always did that. He has a lot of talent - his finishing skills are there.

"Of course it's different when you are 39 compared to when you are 25, but the experience is there and when he has still the desire to play, of course he can have impact."

Burnley boss Nicky Hayen must hope Vardy's arrival will help inspire an upturn in fortune for the Clarets after their slow start to the season.

Relegated from the Premier League last term, the Lancashire side are in the Championship's bottom three having failed to win a league game in this campaign.

But Matos says Burnley's lowly position "doesn't really translate to how they are".

He describes Burnley as having a "really good squad, good players, new coach".

He added: "They are in this moment of adjusting themselves, but the quality is there.

"I think there were games where they could have had more… but it is an early stage in the season still and I really expect a good game from them."

After losing top spot in the Championship on Tuesday, Swansea City defend their unbeaten home record against Burnley on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Clarets did lift themselves off the bottom of the table in midweek but have failed to win any of their opening six matches since relegation from the Premier League last season.

• Swansea have lost their past four league games against Burnley, their longest losing run to the Clarets.

• Burnley have won on their past two league visits to Swansea, the only time they have won twice in a row away to the Welsh club in league competition.

• Swansea are the only side yet to concede at home in the Championship this season (three games). Only in 2011-12 in the Premier League have they kept a clean sheet in their opening four home matches of a league campaign.

• Burnley have failed to win their opening six games of a league campaign outside the top flight (D3 L3) for just the fourth time, after 1977-78 (nine games, second tier), 1979-80 (16 games, second tier), and 1997-98 (10 games, third tier).

• Although Burnley have conceded a league-high 13 goals in the Championship this season, their xGA (expected goals against) total is 8.6 (14th best). Their 4.4 more goals conceded than xGA faced is the biggest difference of any side in the division in 2026-27.

Jamie Vardy is set to be part of the Burnley squad for the first time on Saturday.

The former England international signed for the Clarets on Sunday after Zian Flemming was sold to Ipswich Town.

The 39-year-old travelled with the Burnley team to Wrexham on Tuesday but was not included in the matchday 20 and watched the 1-1 draw from the stands.

Vardy has not played a competitive match since May with former club Cremonese but has trained this week in preparation for the game at Swansea City (15:00 BST).

"He had two training sessions and he's in a good mood because you can see that he's still hungry to score goals," Hayen said.

"He didn't have a pre-season but he worked on his own and he's able to play minutes for the team."

Vardy's role will be more than just on the pitch though, with the experienced attacker tallying 200 goals in his 500 appearances over 13 years for Leicester City.

"Everyone can learn from Jamie because he was a natural killer," Hayen added.

"A lot of goals scored in his career, on the ball movement, off the ball movement.

"That has to be the mindset - everyone can learn from each other as long as you have an open mindset."

Listen to the full interview below or on BBC Sounds here.

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says their poor start to the Championship season has taken him by surprise - but insists performances are improving.

The Lilywhites are bottom of the table after suffering five defeats and picking up just one win in their opening six games.

North End ended a run of four straight losses by beating Blackburn in the Lancashire derby last weekend but gave up a lead to lose 2-1 at Watford on Tuesday night, despite creating 2.44 expected goals (xG) - 1.18 xG more than the Hornets.

"I knew at the start it was going to be difficult but we've gradually got better each game," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire before Saturday's clash with newly promoted Lincoln City at Deepdale (15:00 BST).

"I can't say we're not frustrated, all of us are, but likewise you can't say that you've watched the games and not seen improvements every week and we should have had more points.

"But it's shoulda, woulda, coulda. You get what you deserve ultimately, regardless of the level of performance."

Heckingbottom said scoring more goals is the responsibility of the whole team and not just the forwards.

The 49-year-old also emphasised that he is not going to give up on trying to play attacking football just to grind out results.

"There's no way I'm going to park everyone in our box to try and keep a clean sheet," he added.

"You have to attack together, you've got to defend together and that'll never change."

Defender Andrija Vukcevic is expected to be fit for Saturday despite going off at Vicarage Road in midweek, while Brad Potts, who has missed the start of the season with injury, is back in training.

Captain Ali McCann will be out for several months after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury.

Image source, Opta

Bottom side Preston North End host newly promoted Lincoln City in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Lilywhites have won one and lost five of their opening six games, while the Imps have also picked up one victory so far (D2 L2) in their first season in the second tier since 1961.

• This will be the first season in which Preston and Lincoln City have faced in the league since 1998-99, when the Lilywhites completed a league double over the Imps.

• Lincoln City have won just one of their past 10 league matches against Preston (D3 L6), a 2-1 away win in August 1995.

• With three points, this is Preston's joint-lowest points tally after their first six games of a league season since 1930 (assuming 3 pts/win all-time), also having three at this stage in 2010-11 and 2016-17.

• Lincoln City are the lowest scorers in the Championship this season with four goals – their joint-fewest after their opening five games of a league campaign since returning to the EFL in 2017 (also four goals in 2021-22 and 2022-23).

• Preston have lost both of their previous two league games against newly promoted opponents, last losing three in a row in February 2013.

Bristol City winger Jed Wallace said facing Burnley was "night and day" from the last time he played at Turf Moor with West Bromwich Albion.

The 32-year-old featured for the Robins in their 2-1 victory against the Clarets on Saturday, which was his first visit to Turf Moor since a 2-1 defeat with the Baggies in January 2023.

Burnley won the Championship with 101 points in the 2022-23 campaign but are second from bottom after six games following relegation from the Premier League, with new boss Nicky Hayen yet to win a league game.

"It's night and day from the last time I went there with with West Brom under Carlos Corberan when they had Vincent Kompany," Wallace told BBC's 72+ podcast.

"I made a foul on the edge of the box in the 91st minute and then Mr [Scott] Twine, who I'm now playing with, obviously inevitably stuck it in the top corner.

"That night I felt like it was a proper game of football against one of the best teams I've probably ever played in the Championship.

"It felt a long way from that. I think obviously there's been a lot of change in personnel there over the last two three years."

Image source, PA Media

Wallace said Burnley "haven't really clicked yet" and didn't seem to have a "clear idea of what they were doing".

"That comes obviously with a new manager, a new style of play and new players," he said.

Despite their flaws, Wallace believes 39-year-old striker Jamie Vardy will be a "great signing" for Burnley.

"I think he's someone that will certainly have that aggression and will bring that to them as a group," he added.

"I didn't really feel that they had much of that on the weekend. He's still a top, top player.

"I think you saw that last time he was in the Championship for Leicester, he's not lost a yard of pace. He's still absolutely rapid."