| Saturday, January 17th |
Premier League | Anfield
3PM BST/10AM EST
Burnley come into this one 19th on the table having accrued 13 points with three wins (away at Wolves and at home against Leeds and Sunderland), four draws, and 14 losses. Scott Parker’s side was hard to play against when Liverpool faced them at home during the season opening winning streak, and the Reds snuck by 1-0 on the back of a very last minute penalty.
They do come into this match having beaten Millwall 5-1 in the FA Cup mid-week, itself a result coming on the back of a 2-2 draw against Manchester United the previous weekend. Despite these good results, we shouldn’t expect them to be more attacking than they were earlier this season; indeed, if the venue should give them even more of an excuse to crowd the area. Expect to be frustrated with Liverpool’s passing if the Reds don’t manage to score one early, as Burnley will likely make the penalty area crowded.
In terms of team news, Joe Worrall and Lyle Foster face late fitness tests to see about their availability for the Saturday afternoon, but Zian Flemming — who has scored six goals thus far this season, joint best — is ruled out for Burnley. Zeki Amdouni, Jordan Beyer, Josh Cullen, Connor Roberts and Mike Tresor are unlikely to feature. Axel Tuanzebe and Hannibal Mejbri, who featured at AFCON, are now back with their club.
There are arguments to be made that Burnley are worse than Wolves on paper, but their position near the foot of the table doesn’t translate to them being easy opponents. The Reds will need to find a way through their defense while not making any mistakes — either individual or in transition — to get the three points. That said, it has seemed like Liverpool have been coming to a boil in recent weeks, even if Burnley themselves have reason for positivity as well.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Frimpong, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Wirtz, Ekitiké, Gakpo
There have been no moves on the injury front for Liverpool, with Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni both out for the season and Alexander Isak sidelined for an extended period. Though Mohamed Salah’s Egypt did lose to former Red Sadio Mané‘s Senegal in the AFCON semi-final, the Egyptian captain will feature in the third place match, and is set to return to Merseyside next week.
With the Bradley injury, Arne Slot will likely be tempted to play Jeremie Frimpong on the right rather than in the more attacking position he had been deployed in — though we could see Dominik Szoboszlai or Joe Gomez start on the right. Slot did say pre-match that Calvin Ramsay may play a role in the second half of the season, but if he were to get playing time here we would perhaps have to seen him get some FA Cup minutes before coming in from the cold.
Until Salah returns, Slot is thin in attack if Frimpong plays at right back, as the likes of Hugo Ekitiké, Cody Gakpo, and Florian Wirtz will all likely start. Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister are the decision in midfield, but this does mean that the youthful Rio Ngumoha is the Liverpool coach’s only out-and-out attacking sub. Having a limited ability to change a match from the bench in attack is not what you want, and especially against a side that will want to sit deep and ask to be broken down.
Liverpool will kick this one off looking to go 12 unbeaten in all competitions. Though there have not been enough wins in the mix, a win on Saturday would be a real statement on the back of a draw against the league leaders and a hard-fought FA Cup win midweek.
The very thin bench is at issue here, and Slot will be framing his choices based on Champions League action coming up as well. I would expect to see some rotation in the substitutes to balance minutes, and more than ever the Reds could use a goal or two early rather than waiting for it late.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “We haven’t put ourselves in the most ideal position, especially if you compare it to where we were after six games. But the reality is we are competing with these teams at this moment in time for the fourth position, because Villa is having such a great season.”
Scott Parker, on conceding late last time the two sides met: “I’m not one that often looks back. It was a positive performance from us and one, of course, that hurt at the back end of such a late goal to go in. We can take massive positives from that performance playing against a world-class team and we know the challenges we face going to Anfield as well.”
Referee: Andy Madley Assistants: Lee Betts, Marc Perry Fourth official: Adam Herczeg VAR: Michael Salisbury Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
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