Liverpool at risk of unwanted Premier League first in Burnley clash as stunning Florian Wirtz stats emerge

Liverpool will be at risk of suffering an unwanted club Premier League first in Saturday's clash with Burnley at Anfield.

The reigning top-flight champions return to their Merseyside home aiming to extend their unbeaten run across all tournaments to 12 games, having earned six wins and five draws over the past couple of months.

Liverpool snapped a three-game run of stalemates by taking down Barnsley 4-1 in the third round of the FA Cup, but they are still searching for their first Premier League victory of 2026.

The Reds have been held by Arsenal, Fulham and Leeds United since the turn of the year, and their draw with the latter at Anfield came after they also had to accept just one point at home to Sunderland.

As a result, if Liverpool cannot get the job done against Burnley on Saturday, it will mark the first time in the Premier League era that the Reds have failed to win all of their home games against promoted teams in a single season.

Liverpool risk setting new unwanted record in Burnley fixture

The Merseyside giants last suffered that fate in a single campaign during the 1980-81 First Division, when Leicester City, Sunderland and Birmingham City were the new arrivals to the top flight of English football.

That year, Liverpool were held to a draw by Birmingham while losing to Leicester and Sunderland at Anfield, contributing to their fifth-placed finish in the top flight, nine points behind champions Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, the Reds still enjoyed a memorable 1980-81 season despite their struggles at home against promoted teams, winning the European Cup for the third time in their history as part of a treble alongside the Charity Shield and League Cup.

Arne Slot's side will coincidentally resume their European campaign away to Marseille on Wednesday, and they are only being kept out of the automatic last-16 places by virtue of an inferior goal difference to eighth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Before turning their attention to continental matters, though, Liverpool set out to avoid that unwanted Premier League first on Saturday, when Florian Wirtz will be crucial to breaking down the Clarets' defences.

Stunning Florian Wirtz stats emerge before Liverpool vs. Burnley

Scott Parker's Burnley are expected to line up in a rearguard-heavy 3-4-3 shape at Anfield, where the relegation-threatened visitors will likely absorb pressure and try to strike on the counter-attack.

Liverpool huffed and puffed without success at Turf Moor in September, when the champions ultimately needed a last-gasp Mohamed Salah penalty to carry them to a 1-0 triumph over the newly-promoted club.

The Egypt international is still away at the Africa Cup of Nations - the Pharaohs face Nigeria in Saturday's third-placed playoff - but the statistics suggest that Florian Wirtz will step up to the plate.

The £116m playmaker is one of just five players to create 30+ chances from open play in the 2025-26 Premier League, and of all players to attempt at least 50 take-ons, he boasts the highest success rate with 54%.

Wirtz also bagged a goal and assist in the cup win over Barnsley, and he has been informed that he and another Reds attacker are the "solution" to "systemic" issues in Slot's squad.