Burnley
Burnley will have a tough task this Tuesday, when they host Liverpool, in a traditional period of English football.
While several leagues end up interrupting their national competitions this winter period, the Premier League has its traditional marathon of games between Christmas and New Year.
To start this sequence, Burnley faces the powerful Liverpool and tries to continue a rare positive phase that has been going on since the beginning of the competition.
The team is second to last with just 11 points, and today is 3 below Nottingham, the first team outside the relegation zone.
In 18 games the team has only 3 wins, as well as 2 draws and 13 defeats, and alongside Sheffield, in last place, they are the teams that have lost the most.
The team also has the second worst defensive efficiency in the league, with 36 goals conceded, but in the last round they achieved a great victory away from home, against Fulham.
It was an outlier, in a game where the team had just 34% possession of the ball, saw Fulham take 19 shots, but in some sporadic moves they built their positive result.
Now against Liverpool, they return to play at home and at home, the team has won just once in the competition.
In fact, they have the worst home campaign in the Premier League with 8 defeats in 9 games, just 10 goals scored and 22 conceded.
Their only victory came against Sheffield, which is the worst team in the league, so I believe that Liverpool are completely engaging and favorites for this match.
Liverpool
Liverpool is chasing the lead in the Premier League, which is currently held by Arsenal, with 40 points.
The team appears in second place with 39, tied with Aston Villa, third place, and if they win this match, combined with a stumble from Arsenal who play West Ham at home, the team will take the top of the table.
It is the team that has lost the least in the league, with just one defeat, having also recorded 6 draws and 11 wins.
It ranks as the third most effective attack in the league, with 37 goals scored and Liverpool also has the highest average number of shots, reaching 18.2 shots per game.
As we can see, they are a very aggressive team, they must control ball possession, and as in the vast majority of their games, more present in the offensive field than their opponent.
It is a very important moment, as the team comes from 2 consecutive draws, losing points that could be decisive.
In the first of them, at home there was a goalless draw against Manchester United, and then also at Anfield, they drew one to one against Arsenal.
It is true that these are not games where they faced weakened opponents, but even if they faced their rivals from the big six, it is undeniable that they lost precious points playing at home.
Conclusion:
Burnley is probably the one who will pay for this and therefore, my betting choice will be on Liverpool’s handicap line, which should win with some peace of mind.