Liverpool travel to Turf Moor aiming for their second win in a row, while Burnley would want to bounce back from their opening day disappointment.
The Reds came out on top in a seven goal thriller in a tough fixture at the Emirates on the opening day. While the defence looked shaky, their attacking prowess was impressive. Burnley, on the other hand, were edged out by Swansea at home in their opening fixture, courtesy of a solo goal by Leroy Fer in the 83rd minute.
The odds are heavily stacked in favour of Jurgen Klopp’s side for Saturday’s game even thoughSean Dyche’s Burnley, who were arguably better than Swansea last time out, are more than capable of causing an upset. Burnley would want to take advantage of Liverpool’s lapses in defence, and Dyche, who has experience in the Premier League, would want to get one over Klopp, who is only in his second season in charge in the Premier League.
Burnley
Team News
Club record signing Steven Defour is set to make his debut for Burnley after completing an eight million pound move from Anderlecht earlier this week. He could take the place of David Jones in midfield after the latter joined Sheffield Wednesday. Full back Jon Flanagan is on loan from Liverpool and is therefore ineligible to play against his parent club, while Ashley Barnes is still out with a hamstring injury. New summer recruit Johann Berg Gudmundsson will most likely be on the bench again. Andre Gray had an impressive debut against Swansea and he will lead the forward line alongside Sam Vokes, leaving Lukas Jutkiewicz on the bench.
Tactics
Burnley will be wary of Liverpool’s forward lineup as they can wreak havoc in any defence. They will have to soak up a lot of pressure and also make a lot of moves on the counter. The focus should also be to keep the ball to themselves as much as they can, and frustrate the Liverpool players. However, they would have to improve their finishing skills as they wasted quite a few chances against Swansea in a match they could have won. They will not get many chances against the Merseyside club, but they have to be swift to act on whatever opportunity they get.
Possible lineup (4-4-2): Heaton; Ward, Mee, Keane, Lowton, Boyd, Defour, Marney, Arfield, Vokes, Gray
Liverpool
Team News
Sadio Mane suffered a shoulder injury in training during the week, which means the in-form attacker is a doubt for the game. Philippe Coutinho is fit to play, after it turned out that the injury scare he suffered against Arsenal was just a cramp. Joel Matip, James Milner and Daniel Sturridge have returned to match fitness and could feature. Lucas Leiva and Mamadou Sakho are edging closer to being match fit, and midfielder Emre Can will be hoping for a place in the starting lineup.
Tactics
Liverpool will play a lot of possession football and depend on Sturridge, Coutinho and Firmino to provide them with goals. The presence of Georginio Wijnaldum in midfield will add extra pace, but they have to be cautious about Burnley’s counter-attack. A lot of players have just recovered from injuries so it will be in Liverpool’s best interest to slow down Burnley’s pace at Turf Moor and keep playing passes till they can find an opening to land the killer blow.
Probable lineup (4-3-3): Mignolet; Milner, Matip, Lovren, Clyne, Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Coutinho, Firmino, Sturridge
Key Stats
- Burnley have never won a Premier League game against Liverpool, losing all four of their previous encounters.
- Burnley have never scored a Premier League goal against Liverpool
- The Reds are only one of two teams (the other being Swansea) to have never conceded against Burnley
Prediction
Burnley 0-2 Liverpool
This will be a tricky fixture for Jurgen Klopp’s men at Turf Moor, but given the quality they have, it is expected that they will get past a shaky Burnley. They were unlucky not to score against Swansea, but Liverpool’s defence, although in need of some resurrection, should be able to hold out against the Burnley forward line.
