3 to watch: Burton Albion

It seems an age since I last had to do an article on an opponent. The Ipswich replay didn’t need a ‘thank you’ piece as we’d already covered it in the first game.

Sadly, the clash with Burton won’t really bring one about either. Interaction between the two clubs has been minimal, although I could thank them for me getting a chance to meet Paul Peschisolido who found me half-dressed as Poacher, topless wearing the legs, in the tunnel before 2010 clash (the one where Chris Sutton resigned afterwards.. maybe there was a thank you or two…). He joked I looked like a WWE wrestler, although with my physique he must have been thinking of some computer game with slightly pudgy graphics.

Anyway, seeing as we’re not going to look back fondly at encounters with a team we’ve never beaten, or players that haven’t played for both, I thought I’d give fans something to savour in looking at a couple of their star players. Burton, let’s face it, are not considered a big club but looking through their players has worried me a little.

Aside from the two strikers (who I won’t say anything negative about as they’ll score), they’ve got what I’d class as a top-six side. Some of their talent is, as MA alluded to in his presser, young and energetic. They’ve got a nice blend of experience too, former Hull City man Stephen Quinn being a classic example. He has an FA Cup runners up medal and is a strong force in their midfield.

The fact I haven’t selected him is a testament to how strong they are. I’ve fancied us in games against Wimbledon, Gillingham and Shrewsbury in recent months and been wide of the mark; I really don’t fancy us for this one.

Here are three solid reasons why.