Liverpool vs Burnley: A statistical look ahead of the lunchtime kickoff | Premier League 2018/19

After Manchester City’s stuttering 3-1 win over Watford last night, the onus now lies on Liverpool to clinch a crucial win against Sean Dyche’s Burnley on Sunday afternoon.

With a 7-point lead at the top only as recently as January, a series of below-par results against big rivals Manchester United and Everton in recent weeks, means Klopp’s men now trail the Cityzens by 4 points.

Therefore, it becomes immensely important for the home crowd to cheer their team to victory against a dogged Burnley side. Despite finding themselves 17th in the table, things have been on the surge for the Claret and Blues.

Since the turn of the year, Burnley find themselves 7th in the league table, just a point less than what Liverpool have managed in the same time frame. A victory against Spurs and a draw at Old Trafford shows that Burnley will be no pushovers at Anfield on Sunday.

Back in December, when the two sides met at Turf Moor, The Reds came back from a goal down to win 3-1, courtesy of goals from James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri.

In this article, we take a look at the statistical overview of what lies ahead for the players in this fixture.

Head to Head (League):

Overall: Liverpool 7 wins, Burnley 1 win, 1 draw.

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Expect few goals in the game

Liverpool's front three will look to get on the scoresheet

Liverpool have found the back of the net in all nine Premier League meetings so far, culminating in a total of 19 goals against the Claret and Blues.

To add to this, there has been just a single nil-nil draw at Anfield in the previous 41 meetings between the two sides (that draw came way back in 1920). So, there is a good possibility that the fans will get a chance to see the ball in the back of the net at least once on Sunday.

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A milestone in store for Andy Robertson

Robertson could play his 50th League for Liverpool on Sunday

Liverpool’s Scottish left-back could make his 50th league appearance for the Reds today. Robertson would become only the fourth Scotsman after Dominic Matteo, Steve Nicol and Gary McAllister to achieve the feat in the Premier League era.

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Mane’s blistering form at home

Mane has been in blistering form of late

Of the front three, Sadio Mane has been the only man to have been in some sort of a goalscoring nick for the Reds in the past few weeks.

The Senegalese has scored at Anfield in five consecutive league games, and if the net bulges from his boot on Sunday, he would be level with Michael Owen on six games. Only a certain Uruguayan (Luis Suarez), Mo Salah (7 each) and Fernando Torres (8) fare better in this regard.

Also, with 48 goals under his belt for Liverpool in all competitions, Mane has a chance to reach the 50-goal mark for the club.

Mo Salah’s pending 50th League goal for Liverpool

Salah has struggled of late

Mo Salah has been a phenomenon since joining Jurgen Klopp's men last summer. After having broken the League’s Golden Boot record last season, Salah has a chance to get to 50 league goals for Liverpool in fewer games than any other player. It will be Salah’s 66th game and the current record holder is Fernando Torres (72 games).

Salah, though is on a mini goal-drought, having gone four games without scoring. But Liverpool fans need not worry much as the Egyptian has never failed to score in 3 successive home games.

Scoring first is the winning mantra for the Reds

Liverpool have failed to win just 3 out of the 22 games in the Premier League when they have scored first this season. Two of those games came away from home against Arsenal and West Ham, while the third was against Leicester at the end of January. All three games ended in a 1-1 scoreline.

Therefore, score first and calm the nerves down.

But Burnley love a goal against The Reds

Burnley could give problems to the Liverpool backline

Sean Dyche’s men have found the back of the net in each of the past five Premier League games (home and away). The goals have resulted in one victory, a draw and three defeats for the Clarets.

Interestingly, Sunday’s visitors have scored the first goal in each of their last two Anfield visits.

Burnley’s over-dependence on their striking duo

Barnes (L) and Wood (R) have taken up the goalscoring mantle for the team

Burnley are a rugged team. Defensive solidity is of prime importance to Sean Dyche. As a result, at times this Burnley side can be totally bereft of creative sparks from the midfield.

With Burnley playing two up top, Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood become the sole outlets to relieve the pressure. And both are pretty good at it. Barnes (9) and Wood (7) are not only the top scorers for their team but they are also the only players to have found the back of the net in Burnley's last eight fixtures.

To add to this, both strikers have scored all of Burnley’s last nine away goals.