I was looking at Burnely not so long ago, though I ended up doing a short save with Bournemouth instead. The Burnley starting squad are a typical bottom Prem side in that they have some decently talented players but few of really high quality. I have 2 default tactic I use - a 4-1-4-1 Very Fluid / Standard high press and a 4-1-4-1 Flexible / Counter. I figured the latter would work pretty well with the starting squad. Not the perfect squad for a defensive approach but strong enough to work effectively.
Unless you really wanna go all out attacking, a conservative formation is probably best. A 4-1-4-1 offers a nice stable platform. A 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 provides another attacking outlet, just at the expense of the DM.
If you want to try something similar to the 4-1-4-1 counter approach I use, its based on Cleon's thread on SI for FM16. Still works a treat. Burnley doesn't have quite as much pace across the squad as ideal but you don't want pace at the expense of other attributes, so its a workable trade off.
Mentality: Counter
Team Shape: Flexible
GK : GK
FB: FB - S
DC : CD - D
FB : FB - S
DM : Anchor Man
LW : WM - S
MC : CM - S
MC : B2B - S
RW : WM - S
ST: DF - S
No Team Instructions at all.
Now that's really conservative with all the Support roles. So you will want to tweak here and there. You might want one WM on Attack and the FB on the other side on Attack. Creates a nice balance. Something like this is probably not gonna be plug n play - you will need to tweak as you go, adjusting for different players and opponents. You will probably not massively over-perform and win the EPL title in the first season. But you should certainly be safe from relegation.
Much like Leicester last season, your relatively low stature means teams will come out and attack you. Even mid-level Prem clubs. This exploits that nicely. Over time, if you start to succeed, they will alter how they approach you - exactly like Leicster is seeing this year. The counter may become somewhat less effective, so plan for another approach as well.
