They will put 11 behind the ball. Need an early goal or this will be a slog.
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I hope Mane is available. Not sure Diaz is ready for these sort of thugs.
Hendo is back, great news.
Heās been training with Pepe for the last 2 and a half years so he should have some idea what to expect.
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Genuine question - what referee are we happy about officiating a match? Thereās always a few quips/moans about the refs in every pre-match thread. But Iāve never seen celebrations in the pre-match that are positive because weāve got a ādecentā ref.
On the match itself, I expect to see a few changes with it being Sunday and us facing Inter on Wednesday.
Personally, Iād keep Mane and Salah rested, start with Jota, Diaz and Taki or Bobby up top.
In defence Iām assuming Konate starts alongside Virgil. Iād be happy to see either Robbo or Tsimikas start (with the opposite happening against Inter) , and assume Trent starts.
Jones was a bit poor yesterday - I think heāll benefit from another run out, but with Hendo alongside him rather than Thiago. Save Thiago for the CL!
So something like this maybe;
Ali,
Trent, Konate, Virgil, Robbo,
Hendo, Fabinho, Jones,
Jota, Taki, Diaz.
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I think for English referees, most were content with Oliver until Everton last season, and his subsequent interview where he was talking about how he didnāt give a red card because we didnāt ask for one? I know for me, up until then, he seemed the only half-decent English referee.
Think another common sentiment is that Jon Moss isnāt too bad when heās not got to run, i.e. VAR.
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Sometimes wonder why but Iāve had a soft spot for Burnley for a lot of my life.
That said,donāt like their brand of football,certainly lately,and am quite content to see them thrashed,on a cold February day at Turf Moor,we will need to be on our game,though!
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As far as Iām concerned, theyāre all inconsistent, they all do it off the cuff, and therefore itās purely luck of the draw, most of the time.
I think Atkinsonās not bad either!
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Interestingly enough, Burnley really arenāt your classic park the bus side. In the phase when the opposition start from the back and especially when their fatigue is not dropping later in the game, you see them pressing high (but still compact of course). Klopp spoke about it, Rangnick also lately (when he credited Burnley for pressing whenever de Gea was on the ball or starting play). The thing with them is that theyāre mostly defensive, yes, and very compact. But they donāt just wait, it depends where the opposition is. Some teams let you play out from the back almost all the time, Burnley combine defending deep by also pressing high in different phases/parts of the game.
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Speaking for myself, Oliver and Craig Pawson are the only two IMO without a bias against Liverpool. The rest have or are incompetent.
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Not sure about Konateā¦could be bullied by these thugsā¦
Yes thereās that risk, but I think heās better physically than Matip. He will have to start either against Burnley or Inter, unless Gomez is fit enough to start one of the two.
We play every 3-4 days right until mid-March and it is quite likely that our Arsenal match is rescheduled to March 16 (our only free midweek slot before the international break). Rotation will be crucial to keep our players fresh in order to battle on all 4 fronts. Even the likes of VVD, TAA and Fabinho will sit out a game or two during that run of games. But yes, with immense squad depth, Klopp has many options at his disposal, and that should not be a problem.
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Iām expecting some rotation for this one with the Inter game midweek. I would fancy Mane to start this one to get him back into the rhythm of things. Start with Salah but look at subbing him at the 60 minute mark. Given that we will be up against a bus parking regime Iād quite like to see Ox in midfield.In fairness, given our current squadās fitness we should be able to stick a second string team out and still get a result but I donāt think Klopp will do that.
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I think Konate is more likely to play the Inter match than Burnley one. After all, he did well in the last match at San Siro. So it is either Matip (more likely) or Gomez (less likely) alongside VVD for this one.
As @RedWhippet says, the likelihood of a bus parking regime at Turf Moor calls for an unlocking tool in midfield, so itās either Ox or Keita there, possibly even both of them. It might be too much for Thiago to start a second game in a row after a long absence and I wouldnāt risk Elliott against such a physical team from the outset.
Up front, I expect one of Salah and Mane to start and be then subbed around the 60-minute mark for the other.
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Burnley thugs keep everything tight for 80mins then attempt to score in the last 10ā¦
Whether it is at 0-0 or they 1-0 downā¦
I respect the fact that Burnley have been able to shithouse their way to PL survival for as long as they have. Club has no money and is far from a favored destination. On balance, youād have to say their accomplishments the past five or so seasons have been better than United and Everton considering financial power and outlay. They are the shithouseās shithouse.
That said, smash them, theyāre fucking shit.
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I wouldnāt risk Keita here for obvious reasonsā¦
Iām confident about winning this game, but Iām also fearful about the knocks our players will take.
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The Boss prematch PC, was asked about the injure players and he said Hendo is back for this match and will play, was always the plan. That piece is excellent news. He also said will see how Sadio trains today to make a determination about availability on Sunday.
The interesting piece for Joe he said that Joe is completely healthy but had to be left out of the squad last night, he said unfortunately this is the situation at the moment.
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