FRENCH defender Arthur Gnohere returns to the Clarets side determined to shut out Sheffield United.

Gnohere helped Burnley to a rare clean sheet in the impressive 3-0 home win over Reading, but missed last weekend's 1-1 draw at Sunderland due to a suspension received for his red card in the defeat at Derby.

He returns in place of the influential David May, who serves a one-match ban on the totting up process for yellow cards - his second suspension of the season.

And Gnohere is determined that, like Reading, the Blades will find no way of cutting through the Clarets rearguard.

"The gaffer wants clean sheets and that is what we need in this game," insisted Gnohere.

"It's good to be back in the side and, while Sheffield are a very good team, I think everybody knows if we play as we can, we can beat them.

"We played a little better against Reading, but all we have got to do now is beat Sheffield."

Aside from the suspended May, the Clarets are also without skipper Graham Branch and Alan Moore through injury - and assistant manager Sam Ellis said that options were once again few.

"Graham has not trained all week, so again that makes the team choice harder," admitted Ellis.

"But we are going to try and put on a good show if we can against Sheffield United.

"We feel that in the last three games we have turned things around.

"In the recent matches we have created enough chances and against Reading and Sunderland I think the fans saw that we can put in some good performances - but then we have great faith in the squad of players we have got."

It is just a month since the sides met at Bramall Lane, with the Blades gaining a 1-0 victory courtesy of a defensive mix-up.

But Ellis is not reading too much into that recent reversal across the Pennines.

"It is funny how the fixture programme throws up these games each year and this time it just happens to be Sheffield United," said Ellis.

"I felt we played well enough at Bramall Lane."