Burnley striker Andre Gray. (Photo : Getty Images)
Last season's Football League Championship winners Burnley FC will open their 2016-2017 Premier League campaign against last term's 12th place finishers Swansea City AFC at their home field of Turf Moor on August 13, Saturday.
Burnley won the Championship title last term by being undefeated in their last 18 games in England's second-tier league. The team have also been unbeaten throughout the preseason with a 4-0-2 win-loss-draw slate since July, which is a good indication of their readiness to dip in the English top flight waters.
The Clarets will still be coached by English mentor Sean Dyche, who had been with the squad since 2012.
The team had lost a host of players this summer with Joey Barton moving to the Rangers, Luke Conlan to Morecambe, Lloyd Dyer to Burton Albion, and George Byers to Swansea City all on free transfers.
They added a couple of players from Charlton Athletic, though, with Nick Pope and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, and another one from Liverpool is Jon Flanagan.
Burnley is coming off a 1-1 draw with La Liga squad Real Sociedad at their home ground last Friday with striker Andre Gray scoring his ninth goal in six preseason games, as per SkySports.
Meanwhile, Swansea looks a different team at this time with a lot of player movement in the summer plus and their first full season under head coach Francesco Guidolin, who was hired last January.
The big names who had exited the squad ere Eder to Lille, Alberto Paloschi to Atalanta, and Andre Ayew to West Ham United while some of the on-loan players are Bafetimbi Gomis to Marseille, Adam King to Southend United, and Matt Grimes to Leeds United.
Swansea welcomed a few new signings, though, with Leroy Fer from Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee, Mike van der Hoorn from Ajax also undisclosed, Mark Birighitti from the Newcastle Jets on a free transfer, and Fernando Llorente from Sevilla for an undisclosed amount as well.
The Swans defeated Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais FC, 1-0, in their final friendly held at the Liberty Stadium last Saturday for their fourth straight preseason win, Daily Mail Online reported.
The predicted result is a 1-0 decision for Burnley.
Burnley starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Heaton; Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Boyd, Marney, Jones, Arfield; Vokes, Gray
Swansea City starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Kingsley; Cork, Sigurdsson, Fer; Routledge, Llorente, Montero
