Liverpool travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Boxing Day which promises to be enthralling prospect for both the sides. The Reds go into the clash after an entertaining 2-2 draw against Arsenal where Martin Skrtel’s 97th minute header rescued the points for the Anfield side. Burnely have been in impressive form over the past couple of months but Sean Dyche’s side host the Reds at the back of a 2-1 loss to Tottenham last weekend.
Liverpool are currently 10th in the Premier League standings and any further points dropped on Friday might spell doom on their top four aspirations. Burnley however can finally jump their way out of the relegation zone with a win in front of their vociferous home faithful.
Reds Manager Brendan Rodgers is expected to go with Brad Jones in goal, the Australian who warned Simon Mingolet that he would not be giving up his place easily. A back three with Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure starting should be the order of the day as Rodgers could name an unchanged 3-4-3 setup like the Arsenal game.
Lucas Leiva will keep his place in front of the back three while Steven Gerrard will be the given the license to control the tempo of the game having Jordan Henderson and the bright Lazar Markovic on either side. Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling should complete the front three who will look to get back the Burnely defense and run on the shoulders of the last defenders in the final third.
Liverpool however would welcome back Mario Balotelli after his one game suspension but the Italian is likely to be on the bench. Fabio Borini however will miss out after two picking two crazy yellow cards against Arsenal.
Here is the Possible Liverpool Starting Lineup:
Predictions: Burnely have been very good at home and will be a tough nut to crack for the Reds. Liverpool haven’t got results in the past few weeks but have displayed great football. A tight encounter awaits and I expect the Reds to snatch a 2-1 win.
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