English Premier
2026-01-17 - Liverpool vs Burnley
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 17th January 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Liverpool
A couple of big name substitutes came off the bench to combine for two late goals and that helped Liverpool ease into the FA Cup Fourth Round at the expense of Barnsley on Monday night. Both Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike are getting more and more comfortable in the red shirt and they will be expecting to start and put Liverpool in a strong position to earn three points.
Barring some spectacular implosion from three teams above them, Liverpool are not going to win the Premier League this season, but returning to the Champions League is massively important. The Reds are 4th in the Premier League table, but it is a tight part of the standings and Liverpool are just 4 points clear of Fulham in mid-table. Improving the 6-2-2 record at Anfield is important and Liverpool will not want to drop points against a serious relegation candidate.
Liverpool have not been consistently winning games, but they are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions and that has be applauded considering the sticky patch they had to deal with earlier in the campaign. The last Premier League game at Anfield ended in a goalless draw with Leeds United, but Liverpool are unbeaten in 5 here and have won 3 of the last 4 in all competitions.
Conor Bradley has been ruled out for the rest of the season, while Mo Salah is expected back over ahead of the next Premier League game. Alexander Isak is trending to return after the March international fixtures.
Burnley
The thumping win over Millwall in the FA Cup Third Round is a result that Scott Parker will be hoping can spark his Burnley team in the Premier League. Seeing Nottingham Forest beat West Ham United in the last round of top flight fixtures feels like a big blow for Burnley as much as The Hammers, but Parker will try and keep the squad focused.
They remain 19th in the Premier League table, but Burnley are now 8 points behind Nottingham Forest outside of the bottom three and we are firmly into the second half of the season. The side need big results, but Burnley will be travelling to Merseyside with an 1-1-8 away record and they have conceded 26 goals in those matches.
Burnley have not won a Premier League game since the end of October, although they have drawn 3 of the last 5 to avoid completely losing touch with those outside of the bottom three. However, draws are not going to be enough now and Burnley have lost 4 of the last 5 away Premier League games played since beating Wolves at Molineux.
Axel Tuanzebe, Joe Worrall and Zian Flemming are all hoping to be available to travel to Anfield.
Head to Head
An injury time Penalty helped Liverpool secure a 0-1 win at Turf Moor earlier this season.
Liverpool have won the last couple of home games against Burnley, including a 3-1 win at Anfield when they last met here in February 2024.
Prediction
Any time a team moves into double digits in terms of number of games without a loss, you have to give them credit.
However, for a team like Liverpool, simply avoiding defeat is not good enough for the fans and there has been an inconsistency in turning draws into wins.
The point at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month will feel like one gained, but Liverpool missed Hugo Ekitike's presence.
With that in mind, Arne Slot and the supporters have to be very pleased with the half hour he was able to produce in the Cup win over Barnsley on Monday and Liverpool's squad looks a little more settled. Long-term absentees Conor Bradley and Alexander Isak will be missed, but Liverpool look pretty healthy for mid-January and the manager will be looking for the team to build some momentum.
A home game against Burnley gives Liverpool every opportunity to do that.
Scott Parker's team also made it through to the FA Cup Fourth Round last weekend, but have not won a Premier League since late October. All of a sudden they are 8 points from safety and Burnley have been particularly poor away from Turf Moor where they have continued to concede far too many goals.
The away team will have to believe they can hurt Liverpool in the final third through set pieces and the counter attack, but for much of this game Burnley are expected to be under the cosh.
Fellow promoted clubs Sunderland and Leeds United have found a way to contain the Liverpool threat, but the latter had to ride their luck on New Year's Day.
That is the only way you can really see Burnley escaping with a positive result and the likelihood is that Liverpool find enough in the final third to produce a relatively comfortable win on the scoreboard.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 2-0 Burnley
