Burnley FC vs. Liverpool Preview
Where: Turf Moor, Burnley
When: Saturday, August 20, 10:00 AM ET
Line: Liverpool -209 at Burnley FC +450, tie +295; total: 2.5 – view all Premier League lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSN
Writer’s Pick: Liverpool (-209)
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Betting on Burnley FC (+450)
After a superb run toward promotion in the Championship last season, Burnley got a dose of reality in their much-anticipated return to the Premier League. Leroy Fer’s late goal sent the Clarets crashing to a 1-0 defeat on the opening day of the new season. It was a disappointing result for the Clarets who absorbed their first defeat in their past 24 league matches.
Burnley outplayed Swansea early in the game, but the Clarets just couldn’t convert their chances. They had just three shots on target in 10 total shots. Scoring 72 goals in the Championship is one thing, but doing so in the Premier League is a completely different story. With last year’s top scorers – Andre Gray (23), Sam Vokes (15), and Scott Arfield (8) all unproven Premier League quantities, goals will likely be much harder to come by for the Clarets this campaign.Burnley will be hoping Gray can provide that much-needed quality up front. The 25-year-old striker, who was named the Championship’s Player of the Year last season, spurned several opportunities on his Premier League debut against Swansea. Manager Sean Dyche has built his success in Burnley on very positive, attacking football. But he’s a smart manager, and he won’t be naïve enough to face Liverpool all guns blazing. Instead, look for him to set the Clarets up in a more cautious approach this coming weekend.
Helping him in that regard is the arrival of Belgium midfielder Steve Defour. The Clarets just signed the 28-year-old from Anderlecht for a club-record £8 million. He was the Belgian First Division’s best player back in 2007. The guy’s a proven winner, capturing the Portuguese league twice with Porto and nabbing the Belgian league trophy twice during his time at Standard Liege.
The Clarets are pegged at +245 to score first in this match.
Betting on Liverpool (-209)
Liverpool’s Premier League campaign is off to a flying start after beating Arsenal, 4-3, in an enthralling encounter at the Emirates on Sunday. Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane scored the winning goals for the Reds who recorded their first victory against the Gunners in four league matches.
The Reds will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they take on Burnley this coming Saturday. They will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well against the Clarets of late. Liverpool have won their last four league matches against Burnley with the Reds outscoring the Clarets, 11-0, during that span.
Unfortunately for manager Jurgen Klopp, he will be missing the services of Mane for this weekend’s match against Burnley. He suffered a shoulder injury during training on Wednesday, delivering a blow to Liverpool at this early stage of the season. With Mane sidelined, the onus is on Coutinho to carry the scoring load for the Reds. He was simply unstoppable in the league opener against Arsenal, scoring two outstanding goals in the space of 11 minutes. The Brazil international is expected to start after overcoming a hamstring injury this past weekend.
The Reds are pegged at -270 to score first in this match.
Writer’s Prediction
Liverpool (-209) edge past Burnley, 1-0.
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