Champions Liverpool host late bloomers Burnley this Saturday afternoon in a clash that has more on the line than you might imagine.
Liverpool are chasing the coveted 101 points that would see them take the record of the highest tally in Premier League history from Man City. Burnley, meanwhile still have European ambitions after a strong second half to the season.
Liverpool despite losing to Manchester City heavily last week, recovered well to beat Aston Villa and then Brighton on Wednesday. Sean Dyche's Clarets sit ninth, just three points off sixth spot and a guaranteed Europa League berth.
Like Liverpool, their only defeat since the restart has come against City, and they are looking increasingly solid despite a lack of goals.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? Saturday 11 July
What Time Is Kick Off? 15.00 (BST)
Where Is it Played? Anfield
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK), FuboTV (US)
Referee? David Coote
Team News
Liverpool will be without captain Jordan Henderson who limped off with what looked like a significant knee injury against Brighton. Defenders Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip are both out, although Lovren is thought to be close to a return.
Burnley have a quartet of players who are unlikely to feature again this season. Captain Ben Mee, Ashley Barnes, Jack Cork and Matt Lowton are all out.
Striker Chris Wood and midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson returned to the bench against West Ham and the former may well feature from the start this time around as Burnley search for more goals.
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Milner, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Burnley: Pope; Bardsley, Long, Tarkowski, Taylor; Pieters, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil; Wood, Rodriguez
Recent Form
Liverpool have achieved the essential business since the restart, securing their first Premier League title and now the chase is on to overtake Man City's record points haul. The cobwebs seem to have been shaken off for the Reds after the lethargic defeat to their main rivals last week, which could probably be attributed to slight title celebration hangover.
Comprehensive wins over Aston Villa and Brighton in their last two outings have been made the more impressive due to the team rotation that Jurgen Klopp has noticeably increased, giving talented youngsters Nico Williams and Curtis Jones more minutes, which they have seised with great maturity.
Burnley have been impressive since the resumption of play, despite losing several key players to injury and contract expiration. The investment in youth has paid off for Sean Dyche with Dwight McNeil and Josh Brownhill among the best performers this season; and with Chris Wood returning from injury to help the goalscoring department, a late European quest isn't out of the question.
8️⃣ Arsenal
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 8, 2020
9️⃣ Burnley
? Tottenham
"He's just as important to Burnley as Diego Simeone is to Atlético!"
Joe Cole wants to see the Clarets back Sean Dyche as they challenge for a second European finish in three seasons ? pic.twitter.com/hJlfglRd9G
Apart from a 5-0 hiding from City, Burnley have only conceded two goals since the restart and have found a way of grinding out positive results. The form of keeper Nick Pope, who now has 14 clean sheets this season; and a relentless team work ethic has ensured they have become very difficult to break down once again.
The last time these sides met was last August at Turf Moor, where it was largely one way traffic for Liverpool with an own goal and hits from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino ensuring a comfortable 3-0 win.
Here are both sides' recent form in all competitions:
Liverpool
Brighton 1-3 Liverpool (8/7)
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (5/7)
Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool (2/6)
Liverpool 4-0 Crystal Palace (24/6)
Everton 0-0 Liverpool (21/6)
Burnley
West Ham 0-1 Burnley (8/7)
Burnley 1-1 Sheffield United (5/7)
Crystal Palace 0-1 Burnley (29/6))
Burnley 1-0 Watford (25/6)
Manchester City 5-0 Burnley (22/6)
Prediction
Liverpool will likely not take their foot off the gas, even with the league already sewn up. The form of their front three is clicking back into gear and with plenty of quality on the bench available, Klopp can afford to rotate when he sees fit.
Burnley don't have the same luxury with a depleted squad but sometimes sticking with a similar lineup can pay dividends; just ask Wolves. Burnley will look to keep men behind the ball and prevent any Liverpool counter attacks by picking their offensive battles carefully and playing for set pieces more often than not. This should be a closer match up than many will be predicting but the home side should have enough quality to get the win and push closer to the points record.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Burnley
Source: 90min
