THE DETAILS
Venue – Turf Moor, Burnley
Referee – Chris Kavanagh
Date & Time – Wednesday, May 19th @ 20:15
Current Odds – Burnley 10/1, Draw 11/2, Liverpool 2/9
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We wanted drama and something to cheer for in these last weeks of the season. Well, Liverpool have given us that. A fantastic victory at Old Trafford last Thursday was followed up with a football moment that can only be described as ‘magical’ on Sunday. Alisson Becker rose above the rest to head home an injury-time winner at West Brom, keeping our hopes of a top-four finish alive for another week. The Reds never do it the easy way. We’ve always known that. Strap yourselves in for the next two games. Starting with Burnley on Wednesday night…
FORM
Burnley Form
Burnley have lost five of their last seven matches, going down 4-0 at home to Leeds United just last weekend.
Sean Dyche’s side is 15th in the league on 39 points, safely above the relegation zone for another season.
Burnley have lost their last three games at Turf Moor and only won four times at home all season.
Liverpool Form
Liverpool are unbeaten in seven games across all competitions and have won their last three matches in a row. They are currently 5th in the table, just a point behind Chelsea and three behind Leicester City.
Jürgen Klopp’s men have really battled hard to take maximum points in recent weeks. They beat Southampton 2-0 at Anfield, won 4-2 at Old Trafford after going behind early, and managed a 95th-minute headed winner from goalkeeper Alisson Becker to get the win at West Brom on Sunday.
TEAM NEWS
Burnley Team News
Burnley will be missing Robbie Brady and Kevin Long while Nick Pope, Phil Bardsley, and Dale Stephens are all facing late fitness tests.
Sean Dyche will be sticking with his trusted 4-4-2 formation and I think it will be Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes leading the line in attack.
With Nick Pope probably missing out, Bailey Peacock-Farrell should keep his place in goal for The Clarets.
Liverpool Team News
Liverpool are without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Joël Matip, Ozan Kabak, Diogo Jota, Ben Davies, and Naby Keïta.
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed that neither Kabak nor Jota will play again this season due to injury.
It’s hoped that both James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be fit and available for selection on Wednesday night.
Not for the first time this season (a mild understatement), Klopp finds himself with limited options for his starting eleven this week. There is no choice in defence. The only players he can pick are Trent Alexander-Arnold, Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams, and Andy Robertson. There is little choice in midfield so it looks like being Fabinho, Thiago Alcântara, and Gini Wijnaldum. There is little choice in attack – it will be Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mané.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Burnley XI (4-4-2) – Peacock-Farrell; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Brownhill, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Vydra, Wood
Liverpool XI (4-3-3) – Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Williams, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Mané
WHEN THEY LAST MET
Burnley won 1-0 when the sides met at Anfield back in January. Ashley Barnes’ late penalty sealed all three points for the visitors.
Liverpool were the victors when they travelled to Turf Moor last season, winning 3-0. An own goal by Chris Wood was followed by strikes from Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino.
PREDICTION
BURNLEY 0 – 2 LIVERPOOL
It’s hard to back against Liverpool these days after their showing at Old Trafford and Alisson’s last-minute heroics against West Brom. Liverpool have two games remaining. Two games they must win. I’m backing The Reds to get the three points against Burnley, setting up a potentially special afternoon for the 10,000 fans who will get to watch them play Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday.
