Liverpool vs Burnley: Premier League preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time
Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara could return for Liverpool; Fabinho out due to family bereavement; Burnley unchanged; follow Liverpool vs Burnley in our dedicated live match blog; watch free match highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms and YouTube channel at 5.15pm
Friday 20 August 2021 20:32, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Liverpool vs Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 12.30pm.
Team news
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Fabinho will play no part in Saturday's home game against Burnley due to a family bereavement.
Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara could return to action after playing in a behind-closed-doors game against Aston Villa this week.
Both midfielders missed out at Carrow Road last week having returned late to pre-season after their involvement at Euro 2020. Klopp also confirmed new contract talks between the club and Henderson remained ongoing.
Burnley will have an unchanged squad for the trip to Anfield. Midfielder Dale Stephens and defender Kevin Long both missed the opening-day defeat to Brighton and they will remain absent as they continue their recoveries following surgery.
Phil Bardsley is fit again after his hernia operation and the full-back will hope to play, having been a substitute last weekend.
How to follow
Follow Liverpool vs Burnley in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.
- Download the Sky Sports Scores App: Apple | Android
- The UK's No 1 scores app: Find out more
Last time out...
Prediction: Jones Knows writes...
You'd be brave to take on Liverpool here when factoring how the return of home crowds had a huge influence on results last weekend. Anfield will be rocking to welcome their team who are now unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League games, winning each of the last six. It's not quite peak Jurgen Klopp Liverpool, but it's on the right track.
My punting instincts have been drawn to the offsides market in the hope of landing a decent priced winner though.
With a slight tweak to the offside protocols this season, assistant referees are being encouraged to raise their flag with more confidence if there isn't a clear goalscoring opportunity involving a potentially offside player. In the days before VAR, Premier League games were averaging near 4.2 offsides per match. That dropped to nearer 3.1 in the past two seasons with VAR in force, so perhaps that average will be on the way up in the next few weeks. I'll be watching it carefully in the hope of nicking some inflated prices across various offside markets.
For this one, Chris Wood to be caught offside three or more times at 7/2 with Sky Bet is worth an interest. Liverpool are an offside winning machine with Virgil van Dijk back in their ranks and Burnley's direct style always produces last-line strays in this fixture with the Dutchman playing. In the last four meetings between these two when Van Dijk and his instructed high-line have played, Burnley have been caught offside 21 times. Only Jamie Vardy has been offside more times than Wood in the past two seasons (59), so he should give us a good run for our money.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0
BETTING ANGLE: Chris Wood to be caught offside three or more times (7/2 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- Liverpool lost 1-0 at home against Burnley in the Premier League last season, ending their 68-match unbeaten league run at Anfield. The Clarets last won consecutive away league matches against Liverpool in their first two attempts back in the 1894-95 and 1896-97 seasons.
- Burnley have suffered 10 defeats in 14 Premier League matches against Liverpool (W2 D2), and defeat in this match would see the Clarets lose more than 10 Premier League games against an opponent for the first time, also losing 10 against Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City.
- Liverpool haven't suffered back-to-back home league defeats against an opponent since losing three in a row against Crystal Palace between 2014-15 and 2016-17. Alan Pardew, who led Palace to the first two of those three consecutive wins, remains the only English manager to win consecutive away Premier League games against Liverpool.
- Liverpool have lost their first home league match in just three of the last 55 seasons and have won their first league game at Anfield in each of the last eight. Their last defeat of this kind was against Chelsea in 2003-04, losing 2-1 under Gerard Houllier.
- Burnley have won their first away league game in just two of the last 14 seasons (D3 L9), beating Sheffield Wednesday in 2013-14 and Chelsea in 2017-18.
- Liverpool are on the longest current unbeaten run in the Premier League (11), and have won their last six in a row. The Reds have taken 29 points from their last 11 games (W9 D2), having earned just 10 points in their previous 11 in the competition (W3 D1 L7).
- Burnley have lost eight of their last 10 Premier League games (W2), including each of their last four in a row. They've never lost five consecutive matches in the competition, last doing so in any division in the 2008-09 Championship campaign.
Essential Football Podcast: Will Lukaku get off to a flyer for Chelsea at Arsenal? Plus: Pogba's best role for Man Utd and the lowdown on Watford's new stars
After a blockbuster opening weekend of the Premier League we're gearing up to go again, with Arsenal vs Chelsea a headline fixture and set to feature the Blues' new striker Romelu Lukaku. Peter Smith is joined by Gerard Brand, Adam Smith, Nick Wright, and Ron Walker to look ahead to another big round of games...
PART 1: Will Romelu Lukaku fire Chelsea to a Premier League title challenge? And are Arsenal really in crisis? We assess both sides who go into a London derby in contrasting moods.
PART 2: Paul Pogba starred in Man Utd's win over Leeds with four assists - so how does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keep getting performances like that out of him? And with Raphael Varane primed for his debut, do Man Utd now have all the pieces in place to become champions?
PART 3: Watford returned to the Premier League in style with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on the opening weekend. We tell the story behind some of their new signings and examine their prospects this term. Plus, we hear how a drive down the M6 was transformative for Brighton defender Shane Duffy…
