Liverpool vs. Burnley: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
Brendan Rodgers' buoyant Liverpool side host relegation-threatened Burnley at Anfield on Wednesday night, seeking to continue their pursuit of a place in the top four.
Should results go their way, Liverpool could find themselves above Manchester United and occupying fourth place. They go into the midweek fixtures two points behind United and three points behind Arsenal.
But Liverpool's home form against bottom half of the table sides this season so far has been poor—just one in six games (more on this here).
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For the visitors, Sean Dyche's side are looking to halt a run of six games without a win, losing four and drawing two. They are without a Premier League win since January 10. Indeed, the Clarets have won only once in their last 11 league games. They find themselves third-bottom ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
Date: Wednesday, 4 March
Time: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
TV Info: N.A. / NBC Sports Live Extra
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)
Predicted Formations
Liverpool can welcome back Daniel Sturridge and Mamadou Sakho from the side that started their impressive win over Manchester City on Sunday. Steven Gerrard is back in training but not expected to feature here, as per the Press Association (via This Is Anfield).
Burnley have no new fresh injuries and are expected to line up unchanged, as they have frequently this campaign.
Form Lines (all competitions)
Liverpool
Won 3-2 vs. Man City
Lost 1-0 vs. Besiktas (Europa League)
Won 2-0 vs. Southampton
Won 1-0 vs. Besiktas (Europa League)
Won 2-1 vs. Crystal Palace (FA Cup)
Burnley
Lost 1-0 vs. Swansea City
Drew 1-1 vs. Chelsea
Lost 3-1 vs. Man United
Drew 2-2 vs. West Brom
Lost 2-0 vs. Burnley
Player to watch
Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge
After scoring within 12 minutes of his return to the side against West Ham United last month, things haven't quite been so smooth for Daniel Sturridge since then. Benched for the win over City, having played in a tough trip to Besiktas last Thursday, the England man is set to return to the starting lineup on Wednesday night.
Rodgers has tipped him to come good within the new system, saying: "Come the end of this week Daniel [will] be on a great run and able to play every game and be able to train."
Burnley: Danny Ings
Burnley forward Danny Ings has nine goals to his name this season, more than any other Liverpool forward (Raheem Sterling and Gerrard have six in PL).
With his contract expiring this summer, Ings has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield, with even his manager seemingly approving of a move to the Reds, per The Express.
How Ings performs against his potential new club will be intriguing and his movement up front could cause Liverpool's recently solid defence some problems.
Key Battles
Ings vs. Skrtel
Liverpool conceded against Man City when Sergio Aguero was given space to create for Edin Dzeko and Ings will look to similarly create pockets of space and use his ability with both feet to good effect. Liverpool must ensure he isn't given the time to create for others or the space to run at defenders one-on-one.
'Between the lines'
Manuel Pellegrini's tactical naivety allowed Liverpool's two No. 10 players—Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana—to profit in the space between City's back four and midfield four. Burnley must ensure they don't fall into the same trap and will need to block the spaces for Lallana, Coutinho and/or Sterling to create from.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Liverpool win: 2/5
Draw: 43/10
Burnley win: 9/1
Lallana FGS: 17/2
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Burnley
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