Liverpool will look to keep behind them the thrashing they faced at the hands of fellow Premier League rivals Manchester City in their last match at the Etihad, which they lost by 5-0. The Reds will be looking to get back to winning form and get the crucial three points under their belt when they take on Burnley in their own backyard next.
The Merseyside club will be wary of their defence and will be hoping that the Clarets are not able to get anything past their goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, as they did in their encounter against Crystal Palace. Burnley striker Chris Wood has looked quite sharp since his arrival in the Premier League from Championship club Leeds United and has already scored two goals in two matches and will definitely look to add to his tally against Liverpool, who have been lacking quality defenders in the present season.
The Reds will look to retaliate with their attack, which has been their strong point so far this season. However, the absence of their Senegalese attacker Sadio Mane, who got a red card in the last match against Manchester City due to his clash with their goalkeeper Ederson might be a detriment for them in this crucial clash.
Defence-
This has been a problematic area for Liverpool in the last match and they will want their back four to perform far better than they did against Manchester City. The centre backs Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan will have to take the onus to guard their goal more efficiently, while the two full backs Trent Alexander Arnold and Alberto Moreno will have to participate in keeping their backline away from harm’s way.
Midfield-
The midfield will have to play a much bigger role than they did in their last encounter in the Premier League, letting the rival players get away with the ball and score at will against their team. While the captain and central midfielder Jordan Henderson will have to look to keep the rival attackers away from the ball, Emre Can, who might be starting for the Reds, will have to find the right player at the right place to get the ball to and help them score goals. Georginio Wijnaldum will also have to be active besides Henderson.
Attack-
With no Sadio Mane in the squad for the next three matches, it will be a substantial problem for the Reds to get their attack make early inroads and get crucial goals for Liverpool. However, they might implement Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in the attacking lineup, playing aside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah so as to get crucial three points from the match against the Clarets.
Predicted lineup-
Mignolet, Alexander Arnold, Matip, Klavan, Moreno, Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Chamberlain, Salah, Firmino.
