Liverpool will play their second straight road game of the new English Premier League season when they travel to Turf Moor to take on newly-promoted Burnley FC this Saturday, August 20th. This will also be Burnley’s second consecutive home contest as they were edged 1-0 by Swansea in their season opener last week. Liverpool built up a 4-1 lead against Arsenal in their season debut at the Emirates Stadium in London and then hung on for a 4-3 victory.
Burnley vs Liverpool – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Liverpool as the favorite to win the game at -181 with Burnley +594 and a draw at +331
Burnley vs Liverpool – Head to Head:
These two teams met twice in Premier League in the 2014/15 season with Liverpool winning 1-0 away and 2-0 at home. The clubs have met 108 times in the past with Liverpool winning 51, losing 36 and drawing the other 27. Liverpool has won the last four in a row with Burnley’s last win being 1-0 at home in the FA Cup back in 2005. It’s their lone win in the last 10 meetings and their second victory in the past 15 encounters.
Burnley – A Closer Look:
Burnley earned promotion back to the Premier League this season after just one year down in the second-tier Championship League in 2015/16. They were promoted automatically after winning the 24-team league with 93 points from 26 wins, 15 draws and just five losses. They scored 72 goals and allowed 32 against. Burnley has been relatively busy in the current summer transfer window as the club acquired the likes of Jimmy Dunne along with Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope from Charlton Athletic, Jon Flanagan from Liverpool and Steven Defour from Anderlecht.
Manager Sean Dyche also lost a few players in the offseason as Joey Barton, Matt Gilks, Matt Taylor, Michael Duff, Josh Ginnelly, Chris Long, George Green and David Jones all departed the team. Newcomer Flanagan and forward Ashley Barnes are questionable heading into the match against Liverpool due to injuries. Burnley lost to Swansea City in their season opener with Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer scoring the lone goal for the visitors with eight minutes left on the clock. Burnley looked weak offensively and will need to create some chances against a strong Liverpool side or suffer the same fate. The loss to Swansea was the club’s first defeat since last December.
Liverpool – A Closer Look:
Liverpool finished a disappointing eighth in the Premier League last season with 60 points from 16 victories, 12 draws and 10 defeats with 63 goals scored and 50 allowed. Manager Jurgen Klopp of Germany signed a contract extension in the offseason and has made numerous player moves to strengthen the squad. The club acquired Joel Matip of Schalke, goalkeeper Loris Karius of FSV Mainz 05, Sadio Mane from Southampton, Ragnar Klavan and Alex Manninger from Augsburg and Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle. Players that left Liverpool include Kolo Toure, Jordan Rossiter, Jose Enrique, Martin Skrtel, Joe Allen, Brad Smith, Joe Flanagan, Jordon Ibe and Adam Bogdan.
Liverpool has a long injury list with forward Daniel Sturridge being questionable again as usual along with midfielders Sheyi Ojo, Mamadou Sakho and James Milner. Goalkeeper Loris Karius is out along with midfielder Lucas Leiva and defender Joe Gomez. However, a few of these players may be fit enough in time for Saturday’s game. Liverpool edged Arsenal 4-3 last week with Brazilian winger Philippe Coutinho scoring a pair of goals. They fell behind after 31 minutes and then scored four straight to take a 4-1 lead before conceding two more to the Gunners. Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane scored the other Reds’ goals.
Burnley vs Liverpool – Takeaway:
Burnley will likely be happy with just a draw while Liverpool will be looking for all three points. The visitors will need to tighten up a bit defensively though after allowing three against to Arsenal last week.
by Ian S. Palmer