Burnley vs Liverpool Preview: Dyche's Clarets look to get back to winning ways against high flying Reds at Turf Moor

Burnley are looking for their first league win in five attempts when they welcome Jürgen Klopp's side to Lancashire on their first fixture of the new year.

The Clarets have been frustrated in previous games with their latest setback being a 0-0 draw away to Huddersfield on Saturday. It was Sean Dyche's fourth game since a league win, his longest drought this season and his next test won't do his side any favours with confidence going into the fixture.

Liverpool find themselves sitting in the top-four with back-to-back home wins against Leicester and Swansea that mean the Reds have now gone 12 games unbeaten since October. A win for Jürgen Klopp and his team will see them go 10 points clear of Burnley which will most likely put their Champions League push out of reach for this seasons surprise package in the League.

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Clarets prove to be tough test for Reds

The reverse fixture at Anfield resulted in a 1-1 stalemate with Scott Arfield opening the scoring for Burnley before the emphatic efforts of Mohamed Salah levelled the scoring to share the points at Anfield.

Burnley have proven to be a tough test for Klopp since he joined the Premier League with both managers registering a victory each against each other including an unlikely 2-0 win for the Clarets at Turf Moor at the beginning of last season.

Sean Dyche and his side since have continued to prove the doubters wrong with his side sitting a comfortable seventh already 18 points clear of the drop and stating themselves as unlikely Top-four contenders. The Clarets terrific season attracted media attention nationwide for the British manager which also saw him linked with a move to Merseyside after being linked with the Everton job earlier in the season but the 46-year-old's focus has only ever been on Burnley and ensuring they continue this remarkable season.

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Burnley welcome back James Tarkowski from suspension but it is still unclear as to whether he will be fit enough to feature against Liverpool.

The 25-year-old defender has also been recovering from a broken finger but could go back into the squad.

Dean Marney and John Walters are both pushing for starts after returning to the bench.

Stephen Ward, Robbie Brady (both knee) Chris Wood (leg) and Tom Heaton (shoulder) remain sidelined.

The visitors will finally have their record signing £75 million Virgil van Dijk registered as a Liverpool player from January 1st but the Dutchman will not be available for the trip to Lancashire.

Another huge blow for the Reds could see top scorer Mohamed Salah a doubt for the fixture after picking up a knock in a win against Leicester which saw the Egyptian bag a brace.

Daniel Sturridge (muscle) and Jordan Henderson (hamstring) are both still unavailable.