Burnley v Liverpool: Reds to edge entertaining encounter

Mark O'Haire
30 August 2019

Liverpool have W15-D2-L1 away at bottom-half teams since the start of 2017/18

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Liverpool take the Premier League's only 100% record in 2019/20 to Turf Moor on Saturday evening for a tricky test against Burnley. Mark O'Haire previews the encounter...

"Liverpool have equalled their best sequence in the top-flight under Kenny Dalglish in 1990 by pocketing 12 successive league victories."

Burnley v Liverpool
Saturday August 31, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports

Burnley denied at the death

Burnley were denied victory at Wolves last weekend due to a stoppage-time penalty. Ashley Barnes looked to have won it for the Clarets - his fourth goal in three Premier League games this season - whilst Chris Wood went close and Ben Mee headed against the bar. However, Erik Pieters' foul in the dying moments gave the Old Gold the opportunity to pinch a point.

Understandably, Burnley's players were crestfallen at the final whistle with the equalising goal arriving with virtually the last kick of the game. The Clarets had looked set for a second win of the season after a typically hard-working performance by Sean Dyche's side. Having peppered Arsenal's goal with 18 shots, Burnley had another 13 attempts at Molineux.

Dyche felt his team "deserved to win" and showered praise on his side, saying, "We're looking a different animal to last season, which is important at this early stage. There's a real good energy, some good quality and some good moments." The Burnley boss is still without Robbie Brady and Steven Defour, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson rated doubtful.

Liverpool swipe Arsenal aside

Liverpool lead the early Premier League standings as they preserved their 100% start with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Arsenal at Anfield. Mohamed Salah scored twice, to add to Joel Matip's first-half header, for the Merseysiders in a dominant performance that manager Jurgen Kloppdescribed as being, "full of power, energy, greed and passion."

Arsenal had their opportunities to shock the Reds in a tight first-half but Liverpool took control after breaking the deadlock four minutes before the interval. The second goal from the penalty spot soon after the restart all but ended the encounter as a contest, whilst a dazzling run and finish from Salah added gloss to another ruthless Reds display.

Adrian will continue between the sticks for the Merseysiders this weekend with Alilson out of action until after the September international break. Elsewhere, Naby Keita remains sidelined with a hip injury, but Xherdan Shaqiri, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana will all be hoping for game-time as Klopp looks to keep his squad fresh over the coming weeks.

Reds hot favourites for Turf Moor tussle

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool boast an almost unblemished W8-D1-L1 record against Burnley in the Premier League. The Reds took top honours in last season's two meetings, although the matches were enjoyable affairs as both sides scored, and Over 3.5 Goals were seen in both encounters, ending 4-2 and 3-1 in the Merseysiders' favour.

Burnley 11.5021/2 ought to be in optimistic mood after putting three past Southampton on the opening day before winning all the key performance data metrics when losing at Arsenal ahead of last weekend's stalemate at Molineux. Even so, the Clarets have often come unstuck when welcoming Big Six outfits, returning W1-D1-L11 over the past two terms.

Liverpool 1.341/3 have equalled their best sequence in the top-flight under Kenny Dalglish in 1990 by pocketing 12 successive league victories. The Reds have also tended to be strong operators against the Premier League's lesser lights, bagging W15-D2-L1 on the road to bottom-half teams since the start of 2017/18, with eight triumphs by at least two goals.

Clarets can make their mark in defeat

Each of the past five contests between the clubs have delivered successful Both Teams To Score selections, with all bar one also paying-out for Over 2.5 Goals 1.635/8 backers. In fact, Liverpool have secured victory alongside both sides scoring in four of those recent duels and a repeat looks well worth a poke at 2.80 on Betfair Sportsbook this weekend.

Allison's absence impacts the Reds' ability to play out from the back and Jurgen Klopp's charges have looked less than comfortable defensively during early exchanges. Burnley, in particularly Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, have caused plenty of problems for opposition defences in 2019 with the Clarets failing to score in just four of their last 24 outings.

For more tips and insight on this game, watch the latest episode of Football...Only Bettor, Betfair's weekly football podcast

Mark's 2019/20 Profit/Loss

Staked: 11.00 pts
Returned: 9.20 pts
P/L: -1.80 pts

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