Burnley head into the third of their four consecutive away games with the objective still very much the same now as it was before the first – a maiden Premier League win on the road this season.
The Clarets, who face Liverpool on Sunday, came agonisingly again in their previous outing at Swansea City when Andre Gray’s brace looked to have them on their way to more than doubling the club’s existing points tally on their travels.
But goals from Martin Olsson and Fernando Llorente, who completed a brace of his own after notching the opener, sealed a priceless three points for the Swans and left Burnley’s ongoing search for away day success roll over to this weekend.
Coincidentally, it was Swansea who were the last team to beat Liverpool at Anfield in a dramatic 3-2 win in January, and now Sean Dyche’s men bid to replicate that result and end their travel hoodoo.
Previous encounters
The Clarets famously won the reverse fixture at Turf Moor back in August, when Gray and Sam Vokes stunned Jurgen Klopp’s free-flowing Reds. That win was the first time Burnley have avoided defeat against the Merseyside outfit in the Premier League, at the fifth time of asking.
Prior to that, Burnley had failed to even score against the Reds in those four previous meetings and had shipped 11 goals. But while August’s win ended that barren run against Liverpool at Turf Moor, Burnley’s record at Anfield is even more bleak – a win on Sunday would be their first there since 1974.
Two of the standout games in the history of this fixture came nearly a century apart, but both were Burnley wins. The Clarets saw off Liverpool in 1914 to land their first and only FA Cup triumph and, in 2005, Djimi Traore scored a comical own goal in the same competition as Burnley knocked out their illustrious opponents at Turf Moor.
Season statistics
While Liverpool’s record against the bigger teams in the division is to be admired, their five league defeats this term have all come against sides in the bottom half of the table – including those Burnley and Swansea defeats.
Surprisingly, the Reds – more renowned for their relentless approach to pressing and counter-attacking – have actually completed more passes this season than anyone else. Worryingly for the travelling Clarets, they have also scored the most goals in the league, too, with 58.
Sadio Mane has contributed 12 to that total – which equates to roughly 21% of their total – but Gray’s eight of Burnley’s 30 means the striker has plundered more than a quarter of the club’s goals this season. He needs three more to become the Clarets’ joint-highest scorer ever in the Premier League.
Team news
Klopp revealed forward Roberto Firmino faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday’s game, while club captain Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge remain sidelined.
For Burnley, Dyche admitted that both Steven Defour and Johann Berg Gudmundsson will miss out again, but Joey Barton is back in contention.