Alex Keble's Five-Star Tactics: Liverpool v Burnley

Liverpool may be out of the title race but their final 11 games of the campaign are hugely significant for Jurgen Klopp; if his team are to challenge for honours next season they must put an end to their habit of drawing blanks against relegation candidates. 

Burnley’s trip to Anfield on Sunday is the first of six remaining Liverpool games against bottom-half clubs, and if Klopp fails to inspire victory in the majority of these matches critics will begin to question whether his tactical philosophy is suited to Premier League football.

Burnley famously won 2-0 at Turf Moor in early August, with goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray exposing Liverpool’s high line and highlighting the inherent issues with relying upon the counter-press as the attacking team. 

Despite winning just twice in the league in 2017 Burnley appear to have avoided a relegation battle, relieving them of any pressure to succeed at Anfield. Free from anxiety and specialising in gritty, no-nonsense football, Burnley are the ultimate test of Liverpool’s ability to win ugly.

Here are five tactical questions ahead of Sunday’s contest:

1) Can Liverpool break down a deep-lying opponent without Jordan Henderson (and with Emre Can)?

The tactical pattern of the match is simple to predict, since these are two polar opposite teams. Liverpool rank 2nd for possession (58.3%) while Burnley rank 19th (41.5%), and Liverpool take the third most shots (17.1 per game) while Burnley take the third fewest (10.0 per match). The visitors will sit in a very deep 4-4-2 formation that forces Liverpool to confront a brick wall of bodies in the final third. Sean Dyche’s team will not budge.

As recent defeats to Swansea City, Hull City, and Leicester City have suggested, Klopp’s tactics are not very successful against this style of defending. He wants to attack on the counter-counter, winning the ball high up the pitch and bursting into space, but this only really works against the likes of Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur. 

Liverpool need to learn how to thread the ball through a tight throng of bodies, but their task this weekend is made considerably harder by Jordan Henderson’s absence. His distribution – sharp vertical passes into feet that cut through midfield, and sweeping long diagonals that stretch a defensive shell out of shape – is vital to this team, but equally his replacement, Emre Can, is a big liability.

Liverpool have only collected 23 points from 15 games in which Can has started, compared to 29 in the 12 he has not. The German midfielder is simply too conservative in his passing to make a meaningful contribution against stubborn opposition, significantly lowering the tempo and ensuring a frustrating day for his team-mates.

2) Will Joey Barton fare better than Francis Coquelin against in-form Adam Lallana?

Arsenal’s overly-expansive formation, coupled with the bizarre gap between the defensive and midfield lines, makes the job of defensive midfielder under Arsene Wenger particularly difficult. Nevertheless, Francis Coquelin’s one tackle and one interception before being hauled off at half-time was pretty appalling. He simply could not cope with Adam Lallana’s movement between the lines.

Conversely, Joey Barton has been in superb form since re-joining Burnley. In five Premier League starts he has averaged 4.6 tackles per match, considerably more than any other player in Dyche’s squad. His performance against Chelsea (five tackles, five interception) was particularly impressive, and hints at what we can expect from a boyhood Everton fan against Liverpool on Sunday.

Liverpool’s attacking lines are invariably very narrow, with Roberto Firmino, Lallana, and Philippe Coutinho all drifting across the number ten space to create short-passing options in the final third. Barton’s ability to command this area - and make biting tackles that discourage Liverpool’s more timid attackers - could see the visitors keep a clean sheet.

3) Will Burnley’s old-fashioned front two expose Liverpool’s high defensive line?

Burnley's direct 4-4-2 strategy is a throwback to English football of the 1990s. They attempt more long balls (82.3 per match) than any other Premier League team and win the most headers (22.9 per match) as part of a simple counter-attacking tactic that relies upon a traditional “little-and-large” strike partnership. This could seriously hurt Liverpool.

Marc Albrighton split Klopp's defence easily a fortnight ago to give Jamie Vardy a one-on-one with Simon Mignolet, repeating a passage of play that saw Andrea Ronocchia put Oumar Niasse through on goal in the defeat to Hull in early February. Both of these goals exposed Liverpool's disorganised centre-back pairing and high back line.

Something similar should happen on Sunday. Sam Vokes and Andre Gray combined to score Burnley's second goal against Swansea last weekend, with the former winning an aerial duel and the latter half-volleying into the net. It was a carbon copy of Gray's strike in the 2-0 against Liverpool in August, when Burnley twice nicked possession in the Liverpool half and went through on goal via direct passes.

Liverpool take the third most unsuccessful touches in the division (13.7 per game). Like Leicester, Burnley should be able to spring sudden, long-pass counter-attacks that catch Klopp's team cold.

4) Will Brady's dead-ball delivery, a new feature at Burnley, trouble Liverpool’s chaotic defence?

Burnley have struggled to create chances all season, averaging fewer shots per game than any other team bar Sunderland (9.6 per match). The most frequent source of goals has, in fact, been from set-pieces; they have scored 16 from corners, freekicks, or penalties (53% of their total).

The signing of Robbie Brady from Hull City in January has seen a sharp increase in chance creation from the left wing. The Ireland international has a brilliant left foot, and in just three Premier League starts has grabbed a goal and an assist for his new club. What’s more, he is already top of the Burnley charts for key passes from freekicks per 90 minutes (0.7) and accurate crosses per 90 minutes (2.1). 

His dead-ball delivery, then, looks set to be as important a feature of Burnley’s game as it was when Brady was a Hull City player. Liverpool’s haphazard defensive displays in recent weeks could make them vulnerable to Burnley’s specialty, particularly given that the hosts lack aerial presence. 

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip are the only two players who win the majority of their aerial duels, while a basic defensive disorganisation should allow Burnley to win the second-balls from freekicks and corners.

5) Who will come out on top in the battle between Sadio Mane and Stephen Ward?

Any tactical discussion of a Liverpool match would be incomplete without some mention of Sadio Mane, the one Liverpool player who brings directness and unpredictability to Klopp’s attacks. His team often look jaded or bereft of ideas without the Sengalese to disrupt the opposition’s defensive structure, and so left-back Stephen Ward’s individual performance will inevitably go some way towards deciding the outcome.

The 31-year-old is a safe pair of hands for Burnley, but he does not have the speed required to halt Mane alone. Brady, who has spent the majority of his career as a full-back, must diligently double up on Mane or else this match will be no contest at all. 

Mane has three goals and an assist in his last four matches, driving the team on during their sticky patch. Stop Mane, and you stop Liverpool.