Liverpool will be out for revenge when they battle Burnley in their second Premier League fixture of the new season on Saturday.
It was a 1-0 defeat by the Clarets in January sealed by a late Ashley Barnes penalty that finally brought to an end their incredible 68-game unbeaten home run in the top-flight.
That upset sparked a dramatic loss of home form for Jurgen Klopp’s previously dominant side, who went on to lose six league matches in a row at Anfield for the first time ever.
The home side kicked off their campaign to newly promoted Norwich last week with a convincing victory over the championship defending champion. The returns of Van Dijk, Matip and Gomez serve as a massive boost for the Jurgen’s men after last season’s wretched defensive injury crisis and Salah was in irresistible form as Norwich were firmly punished after a bright start, with two assists and a goal to his name as Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino also got on the scoresheet.
Burnley, by contrast, absolutely threw away three points against Brighton, the 17th-place finishers last term led for 71 minutes at home to Brighton following James Tarkowski’s early header, only for late quick-fire efforts from Neal Maupay and Alexis Mac Allister to condemn them to painful opening day loss at Turf Moor.
Liverpool vs Burnley Team News
Liverpool
Liverpool were massively boosted against Norwich by the return to competitive action of defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, while the fit-again Joe Gomez was an unused substitute alongside £35million summer signing Ibrahima Konate.
Kostas Tsimikas made his first Premier League start at left-back with Andrew Robertson ankle ligament injury likely to keep him sidelined once more at the weekend. Midfilder Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are doubts owing to match fitness level.
Burnley
Dale Stephens and Kevin Long missed the season opener against Brighton with fitness issues and remain doubtful for this weekend. Burnley will be buoyed by the return of Nick Pope who played his first competitive game against Brighton last week since undergoing knee surgery in May.
Liverpool vs Burnley Predicted Lineups
Liverpool predicted lineup(4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Chamberlain, Keita; Salah, Mane, Jota
Burnley predicted lineup(4-4-2): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Wood, Rodriguez
Liverpool vs Burnley Key Players
Liverpool- Mohammed Salah
The forward faces Burnley this weekend and a brace would actually make him the fourth fastest to score a century of goals in English top flight. After scoring against Norwich last weekend, Salah became the first player in Premier League history to score on the opening day five seasons in a row . Salah has suffered a torrid run against Burnley scoring against the claret only once which came in 2017. The Egyptian forward will be looking to break this omen when the two sides meet on Saturday at Anfield.
Burnley-Nick Pope
Nick Pope finished the last season(15) behind Ederson(16) on the clean sheets list despite the fact that the claret finished 17th on the log last season. Nick Pope concedes an average of 2 goals for every 90 minutes that the player is on the pitch. He has the best save percentage of 78.1 last season and is expected to keep the Liverpool deadly front line quiet and reduce the goal deficit when they meet on Saturday.
Liverpool vs Burnley Prediction
Liverpool’s strong start of the season and the crowds at Anfield on Saturday means there is likely to be one winner in this fixture.
Liverpool have enjoyed success against Burnley in recent season and we expect the trend to continue. Although, Burnley have the players to frustrate the host but Liverpool’s superior firepower should fire them to a comfortable victory at Anfield.
I’m also opting for a repeat of last weekend’s 3-0 scoreline, especially since Liverpool have beaten Burnley by that scoreline in two of their last four clashes.
Liverpool 3:0 Burnley
Possible Goalscorers –Salah, Mane and Firmino