The 2023 festive period continues with exciting English Premier League fixtures as Burnley hosts Liverpool at the Turf Moor stadium. The match, scheduled to be held on Boxing day-the 26th of December, promises to be very exciting.
Burnley, under the guidance of former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, has found it very difficult to adapt to life in the Premier League. They are rooted at the bottom of the standings with just four points in their first twelve Premier League matches. It’s been tough to transition from a very successful Championship season where they won the league to the premier company of the big boys.Â
Even though they lost many players crucial to their promotion, they could recruit important players to replace them. Notable outgoings include former captain Ashley Barnes, who left on a free transfer to Norwich, Matthew Lowton and Jordan Beyer. Key additions include James Trafford, who joined Manchester City for €17.30m, Micheal Obafemi from Swansea, Nathan Redmond, Sander Berge and Jacob Bruun Larsen.
Successive losses to champions Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur quickly ended the promising expectations for the season. Their fourth match at Nottingham Forest was their first point of the season.
They then lost two successive games against Manchester United and Newcastle United before getting their first season victory in a 2-1 win at Luton Town. Their most recent outing was a 3-1 loss against 10-man Arsenal at the Emirates, with goals from Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and a surprise from Zinchenko sealing the victory for the Gunners.
With coach Jurgen Klopp still at the helm of affairs, Liverpool has started the season very brightly. They sit joint-second on the table with twenty-seven points from their first twelve matches.
In the summer, they lost some key players to the Saudi pro league. Key departures include former captain Jordan Henderson, who joined club legend Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq; Roberto Firmino, Al-Ahli Saudi; and Fabinho, who joined Al-Ittihad.Â
Other departures include Naby Keita to Werder Bremen after his contract ended, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain to Besiktas, James Milner to Brighton and Hove Albion, Fabio Carvalho on loan to Rb Leipzig and Arthur Melo, who left at the end of a disastrous loan spell. Marquee signings included Hungarian captain Dominik Szoboszlai, who joined from Rb Leipzig, World Cup winner Alexis MacAllister from Brighton and Hove Albion, Ryan Gravenberch from Germany giants Bayern Munich, and Wataru Endo.
They have dominated their group in the Europa League with nine points in four matches. Their most recent outing was a 3-2 loss at Toulouse, as they were denied a last-minute equaliser by VAR.
They started the league season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Chelsea, with Alex Disasi cancelling Luiz Diaz’s opener. This was followed up with five successive victories against Bournemouth, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wolves and West Ham. The victory against Newcastle was imposing as they won with ten men after captain Virgil Van Dijk was sent off for a tackle on Alexander Isak.Â
They suffered their first-season loss against Tottenham Hotspur after being reduced to nine men as Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were both sent off. Then, they drew their next match 2-2 in an entertaining draw with Brighton and Hove Albion. They followed this with victories against Everton and Nottingham Forest before holding Luton Town to an interest in their next match. Their most recent match was a 3-0 victory over Brentford at Anfield.
Burnley have won just 3 matches. while Liverpool has won 12 games, and just 2 matches ended in a draw.Â
Match tickets
This epic match at Turf Moor in Burnley kicks off on Tuesday, 26th December 2023, at 5:30 PM UK time, and it will be shown live on TNT Sports, with coverage starting from around 5 PM.
This is the 19th League game of the season for the two teams. Burnley’s campaign in the top flight has not gone according to plans, and they will be facing a recent European champion and one of the top sides fighting for the top four at their 22,546-capacity stadium. Â
Getting tickets for Burnley vs Liverpool tickets could be a problem because of the kind of opposition. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.Â
Team news
Line-ups
Vincent Kompany’s side will look to pull off an offset victory in this encounter. They could possibly be without Micheal Obafemi and Nathan Redmond for this encounter. Meanwhile, Foster, who is undergoing treatment for mental health, remains unavailable. Otherwise, they have most of their squad ready for the fixture.
Burnley: Trafford, O’Shea, Taylor, Beyer, Amdouni, Berge, Vitinho, Koleosho, Brownhill, Gudmundsson, Rodriguez.
Jurgen Klopp will be keen to get a solid performance from his side on the road when they go to the Premier League strugglers. Tsimikas could start at left-back instead of Robertson, who has been nursing an injury problem for a while now. Gravenberch, Mac Allister, and Szoboszlai are expected to line up in midfield. Meanwhile, Thiago remains a long-term absentee.
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Diaz, Jota, Salah.
Prediction
Burnley will be looking to this match for an upset, which seems very unlikely considering their poor form in the league. They have just four points from a possible thirty-six in the league.
Considering the gulf in class, Liverpool should win this convincingly, and Mo Salah should play a vital role in this fixture.
Burnley 0-3 Liverpool
