Liverpool fell to defeat in the capital last Sunday, comprehensively beaten at the Emirates Stadium against title rivals Arsenal, and while Jurgen Klopp still has a hold on top spot in the Premier League, Manchester City will return to first-place should they win their game in hand.
On Saturday, Liverpool return to Anfield and will host Burnley in a match that will be viewed as a must-win, the Clarets languishing in 19th place and seven points adrift from the dotted line.
Of course, Reds supporters know only too well the damage Burnley can inflict on Merseyside, winning 1-0 in 2021 to end the Reds' 68-match unbeaten run on home turf in the top flight.
Klopp will be confident that his team will prevail tomorrow, though he could make four alterations from the side that was dismantled against the Gunners.
1 GK – Alisson
Alisson endured a nightmare performance against Arsenal, leagues away from his usual imperious standard and at fault for two of the opposition's goals.
Still, the Brazilian is one of the best – if not the best – goalkeepers in the world, with the second-best save percentage in the Premier League this season at 75%.
2 RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold
Another one to have been far from their best last time out, Trent Alexander-Arnold was perhaps rushed in his return from a knee injury after Conor Bradley took personal leave.
#
Player
Stat
1.
Mohamed Salah
19
2.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
12
2.
Kieran Trippier
12
3.
Bruno Fernandes
11
3.
Bukayo Saka
11
3.
Heung-min Son
11
Source: Premier League
Lauded for having a "playmaking masterclass" in his locker with world-class constancy by The Times' Henry Winter, the England international has posted two goals and nine assists in all competitions this season and will be crucial to Liverpool's fluidity against Burnley.
3 CB – Jarell Quansah
Ibrahima Konate has been in stunning form this season but picked up two yellow cards last week and thus is suspended for the visit of Vincent Kompany's squad. But fear not Liverpool fans.
Jarell Quansah, aged 21, will seamlessly slot into the line-up, having emerged as one of the club's standout prospects this season.
Commanding and composed, the 6 foot 5 titan looks right at home under Klopp's wing.
4 CB – Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk did not enjoy his finest hour last time out but this should not detract from the phenomenal performances he has put in since donning the captain's armband last summer.
As per Sofascore, the 32-year-old has completed 90% of his passes across 21 Premier League fixtures this term, averaging 1.3 tackles, 5.0 ball recoveries and 4.3 clearances per game, also succeeding with 77% of his duels.
5 LB – Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson picked up a shoulder injury on international duty with Scotland back in October and while he returned to fitness last month, he has been kept out of the starting fold by the brilliant Joe Gomez.
The forthcoming contest presents the perfect opportunity to reintegrate the ace and he should be named among the starters, hoping to pick up his fine form in the early days of the 2023/24 campaign.
6 DM – Alexis Mac Allister
Alexis Mac Allister signed for Liverpool from Brighton & Hove Albion for £35m last July as Klopp made sweeping changes to his midfield, and he has come into his own as the deep-lying string-puller.
Technically immense and boasting a salivating range of passing, Mac Allister also averages 2.9 tackles per game in the Premier League this season.
7 CM – Harvey Elliott
With only three league starts to his name this term, Harvey Elliott will be eager to take his chance to impress in the place of Dominik Szoboszlai, who is sidelined with a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
The dynamic midfielder is among the most creative and graceful in English football and will be crucial in weaving the thirds together as the hosts look to go on a rampage.
8 CM – Curtis Jones
Alexander-Arnold remains Liverpool's homegrown golden boy while the emergences of Quansah and Bradley have got fans chattering with fervour, but Curtis Jones, aged 22, has been excellent this year and might just be Anfield's unsung hero.
Jones has scored five goals and supplied three assists this year but it is his press-resistance and technical quality that makes him so valuable in the engine room, industriously metronomic, keeping Liverpool purring with a kind of clockwork cohesion.
9 RW – Diogo Jota
The laterality of Diogo Jota is something to behold. Simply, he doesn't seem to have a positional preference. Right, left, central – who cares? Certainly not him.
The man lives for goals, and ranking among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored per 90, as per FBref, Jota will be the talisman needed as Mohamed Salah recuperates from a muscular injury.
Cody Gakpo will have to relinquish his position on the right but the "special" forward – as he has been called by assistant coach Pep Lijnders – has been out of sorts recently and Jota is the man for the job.
10 LW – Luis Diaz
Luis Diaz had struggled to click into gear for much of the season before the turn of the year fuelled him with a new wave of energy and optimism.
The 27-year-old has three goals and two assists since the start of January and will stretch Burnley like a piece of taffy, his fleet-footed style sure to wreak torment as Liverpool strive to return to winning ways.
