Wednesday 5th December 1945hrs Burnley v Liverpool Football – England – Premier League Teams often look back on seasons and can pinpoint pivotal games during the campaign which have shaped their fortunes, and you sense that the weekend just past could well have been one of them for both of these teams. For Burnley they were consigned to another defeat and again against a team in and around them at the bottom of the table, whilst their opponents on Wednesday secured the most dramatic of wins in the Merseyside derby. Continue reading for a match preview as Burnley host Liverpool with a selected best betting tip.
Following their excellent season last term, Burnley are paying the price we’ve seen so often for more provincial clubs who do well and make it in Europe. Unlike teams who regularly compete in European football are used to the demands it places on them, but Burnley were doing so for the first time in decades and it’s showing. The whole routine changes with the squad coming back earlier, playing games much earlier in the season and also trying to combine domestic and European obligations is difficult to do. That’s been the case for Sean Dyche and his players who – although they were only in the Europa League for a couple of rounds – are still paying the price. The Clarets have lost five of their last six games in the league and won only two games all season. It leaves them second bottom of the table and they are very much involved in the relegation scrap. That has been confirmed over the past week where they have lost against two opponents who have been lurking in the depths of the Premier League, namely Newcastle and Crystal Palace. Burnley lost 2-1 at home to the Toon Army last Monday and turned in a pretty inept display on Saturday when visiting Selhurst Park. They now have to deal with Liverpool who sit second top in the league.
Much has been made of Jurgen Klopp’s celebration of Divock Origi’s injury time winner for Liverpool against Everton at the weekend and whilst it was probably not in keeping with the ‘spirit’ of the game, it did overshadow what could be a really important win. Liverpool were coming off the back of a demoralising defeat in the Champions League and would have been mentally and physically tired. A match at home to Everton was always going to be a really challenging one and so it proved. It looked for all money that the game would end in a draw only for a player who has found himself surplus to requirements under Klopp to make himself a hero. It keeps the Reds just about on the tails of Manchester City at the top of the table and perhaps more importantly, clear of the chasing pack. They now have two very important away games with a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday to come, ahead of that all important final Champions League group game, and nothing less than maximum points is likely to be good enough. Having had problems at Turf Moor in the past then that is unlikely to be any easy task.
Burnley v Liverpool Betting Tip
At the start of last week when Dyche would have been looking ahead at these three games, starting with the home match against Newcastle, he would have very much been targeting the first two games to pick up some much-needed points. As it is, they now face the hardest of those three games having lost the first two and are just one game from potentially being bottom of the table. For Liverpool, they have experienced a low and a real high in the last seven days but the high will mean very little if they are unable to follow up with another win in this one.
I alluded to Liverpool’s struggles at this ground in the past and that stems from a defeat in 2016/17 and a very narrow win last season. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2010 since Liverpool last defeated Burnley by more than one goal. It indicates that Burnley have a tried and tested approach to trying to combat Liverpool’s threat and they will need to do similar once again on Wednesday. The Clarets will make it a battle but Liverpool have shown they are up to that this season and their defensive record is testament to that. I expect this will be another close one and think there is value in Liverpool to win this game to nil, as they have done eight times already this season in the league.
Selection: Liverpool to win to nil EVENS @ Boylesports
