Oli McBurnie Out To Fight Fire With More Fire Against Will Grigg

Oli McBurnie Out To Fight Fire With More Fire Against Will Grigg

Oli McBurnie will try and leave Wigan badly burned on Tuesday night to prove he’s the striker on fire, rather than Will Grigg.

The two marksmen are set to meet at the DW Stadium, where it will be a shoot-out between the clubs seventh and eighth in the Championship table.

The Swans are one place above their opponents and will be hopeful that McBurnie can ignite his team more than the Northern Irishman Grigg, who gave rise to his country’s memorable fans’ song at Euro 2016.

McBurnie has been directly involved in 60% of Swansea’s 10 Championship goals so far this season, with four goals and two assists.

Grigg has managed three goals in his seven appearances and hopes to start for the Latics after overcoming injury to make a substitute’s appearance in his team’s 1-0 defeat at Norwich.

McBurnie has played through his own injuries this season, a reflection of his commitment to the cause and also the faith he appears to have in the judgement of manager Graham Potter.

The Scotland striker – who was named in his country’s squad this week – says: “He just fills us with confidence, and tells us how good we are as players.

“It was one of the main things he brought in when he came here. It was all about that attitude, and wanting to play for each other, and work hard for each other.

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“He knows the quality the squad have in there. We might not have the experience or the price tag some of the players might do in the Championship, but there’s a lot of quality in there, and not just quality but spirit as well.

“And I think that’s the main thing. Teams with good spirit have done a lot of things in football.”

Potter could change a winning side with Leroy Fer and Martin Olsson in contention. Potter has managed the game-time of two of his most experienced players this season and were both on the bench against QPR on Saturday.

The Swans romped to a season-best 3-0 win, but the experience of two international players could be important against opponents yet to lose at home this season.

Jay Fulton showed he had overcome his recent head injury by coming on as a substitute against QPR and scoring the third goal.

For Fulton it would be a return to the club he joined for a spell on loan last season.

“Any game in this league is hard, especially away from home,” Fulton said. “We go to Wigan with a good away record and we’ll aim to keep that going.

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“It won’t be easy. They have good players who are playing with a lot of confidence after coming up last season and they have carried their good form on this year.

“They like to play expansive football, so it should be an attacking game.

“It’ll be a tough test for us against a good team, but we’ll go there with a gameplan and hopefully we can come away with three points.”

Fulton was a little frustrated during his stint as a Wigan play because of a lack of game-time.

He made six appearances during four months with the Lancashire club, scoring once, but has made a big impression since returning to the Liberty.

He has played seven times already under Potter, and scored his second goal of the campaign in last Saturday’s 3-0 win.

“I didn’t play as much as I would have liked when I was at Wigan but I am grateful that they gave me a chance,” the midfielder added.

“I am enjoying being back at Swansea now and I’m looking forward to going back to face Wigan. I’m just hoping I will be in the team.”

 

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