Burnley vs Liverpool
Fresh from their Merseyside Derby victory, Liverpool return to the Premier League this midweek to take on luckless Burnley and look for a fourth straight league win.
The Reds are one of only two undefeated teams in the league this year, alongside Manchester City. And sure enough, they will be aiming to keep their perfect record intact and stay in the hunt for the English top-flight title.
Burnley have had provided plenty of stern tests to Liverpool over the past couple of years, but recent performances suggest that a one-sided affair is a possibility. After all, the Clarets have only taken nine points out of a possible 42.
Talking Points
The two teams couldn’t be more different. While Burnley have been unlucky this season—winning only twice despite high expectations—Liverpool continue to dominate and are now second, just two points behind reigning champions Manchester City.
Lady Luck has undoubtedly been on the Reds’ side, at least in the Premier League anyway. Fans need not look further than their latest win over Merseyside rivals Everton to find proof.
With the game seemingly headed to a goalless draw, Divock Origi stepped up in added time to fire the winner for Liverpool. It was undeniably a surprise given that the Toffees did well to keep Jurgen Klopp’s men at bay.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp apologises for his wild celebrations after Divock Origi’s winner against Everton.
“I have to apologise because I didn’t want to be disrespectful but I couldn’t stop myself. It just happened.” #LFC pic.twitter.com/LR7gZhOUJp
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) December 3, 2018
Moreover, it’s good news for Liverpool that Mohamed Salah is finding his stride after struggling earlier in the season. The Egyptian King recorded only four goals and one assist in the first nine games of the season, but he has now found the back of the net three times and assisted his teammates twice in their past five outings.
In contrast, Burnley have failed to build from their seventh-place finish last year. Sean Dyche’s charges are currently second bottom and are just a point ahead of league-worst Fulham.
The Clarets have lost five of their last seven, with the other two ending in a draw. During that stretch, they have conceded a total of 18 goals, including five against the Sky Blues and four each to Chelsea and West Ham United.
Overall, Burnley are second with the most goals allowed (29) and third with the least goals scored (14) this 2018-19 campaign. For a better perspective of how horrible they have been this year, they scored 36 and conceded 39 last season.
While defence appears to be the main suspect for Burnley’s fall, their offence didn’t help in limiting the damage. Sam Vokes leads the Lancashire club in scoring with three, with last year’s top-scorers Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood still searching for their rhythm.
Anything but a win for Liverpool will certainly upset fans and grab the Premier League 2018 news headlines. Nonetheless, a Reds shock defeat seems unlikely given the difference in depth and quality between the two sides.
History
If there’s any silver lining for Burnley, it’s the fact that they have a history of making life difficult for Klopp’s men.
The Clarets have only won once against Liverpool in their past six meetings; however, in their latest match-up, the Reds needed an injury-time winner from Ragnar Klavan (now with Cagliari) just to fend off the team at Turf Moor.
Furthermore, in their other 2017-18 encounter at Anfield, Burnley took the lead on 27 minutes before Salah hit a 30th-minute equaliser to share the spoils.
On the other hand, in 2016-17, Dyche’s outfit won at home 2-0 behind Vokes and former striker Andre Gray (now with Watford). The other fixture in the campaign saw Burnley take an early lead again, though they eventually conceded two goals and lost the match.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their seven away games in the Premier League this year, so that should give them added confidence heading to this fight. It should be noted, though, that two of those ended in a draw and that they have allowed one goal in four of those travels.
Betting Tip
 |
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Burnley vs Liverpool | Under 2.75 @ 2.11 |
| December 06, 03:45 (GMT+8) |
As expected, Liverpool are the favourites. Who would bet on the second-placed club losing to the second-worst team in the league anyway?
The Premier League 2018 odds at SBOBET put Liverpool as the overwhelming choice to dominate, with Burnley given little to no chance of taking all three points.
As seen in their previous battles, Burnley have a tendency to go defensive whenever they take the lead. Nevertheless, considering that they lack the tools up front to threaten the Reds, it’s doubtful if they will even have a chance on goal.
Liverpool can start slow at times, and it’s critical to note that they have only one away game this year when they scored more than two goals.
I predict a pretty comfortable victory for Klopp and Co., but I don’t think it will be as high scoring as the odds imply.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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