Burnley: The view from the opposition

Branch, who was a versatile wide-man, earned cult status at Burnley and made more than 200 appearances for the club after starting out at Tranmere Rovers and working under John Aldridge.

He provided us with an insider's view prior to the Reds' 1-0 win over the Clarets at Turf Moor on Boxing Day, when he explained his love for both clubs and spoke of fulfilling his dream of playing the sport professionally.

Ahead of tonight's clash, in which Brendan Rodgers' side will seek to add to their fine recent form in the league, Branch returns to run the rule over Burnley and offer an insight into how the game might unfold. 

Graham, tell us about Burnley's form heading into the game...

Burnley have had some good away results. There was the 1-1 draw at Chelsea and a 2-2 draw at Manchester City, where they fought back from two goals down. I think they've been doing well, but what's been causing a lot of problems for them, and I hear this from friends who are Burnley fans, is the way they have defended set-plays. That seems to be their Achilles heel at the moment. They haven't managed to sort that situation out and it's been costing them dearly. It cost them again at Swansea last week when they got beat 1-0. On the whole, they've done alright, considering it's their first season back in this league for a while. They have some decent players in there who have been causing the opposition problems.

Will the fact that they have picked up important points away at City and Chelsea mean that Burnley will fancy their chances at Anfield?

Liverpool are on fire at the moment. I watched the game against City and they absolutely destroyed a very good side. Burnley will go there with the same approach as they did at City and Chelsea, thinking that they can get something. Liverpool have been on the same level as Chelsea and City, especially in the last two or three months. It will be a tough game for Burnley, but they'll make it hard for Liverpool, too.

In terms of how Burnley will set up, can we expect a different sort of test for Liverpool to the one they faced against City?

I don't know exactly how Burnley will approach it. I think the manager will have watched the City game and he probably saw how Jamie Carragher gave such an insight into City and how they played, and how they were caught out. Whether he uses that, I'm not quite sure. He'll do as much as he can, tactically, but if Liverpool play the way they did against City, it's going to be hard to stop them. Burnley have players who can hurt Liverpool. There's Danny Ings, Kieran Trippier is on fire and the defence is doing alright.

You played predominantly as a left-back and a left-winger throughout your career. How would you have felt adapting to this system Liverpool play? How long does it take for players to get to grips with it?

Under Stan Ternent at Burnley I think I ended up playing in every position on the field bar in goal! It was tough at times, but it gave me more of a chance of playing week-in, week-out! The Liverpool lads have adapted well to the new formation, right across the board. It's worked wonders for them. They're a different team compared to the start of the season. I know there were a lot of new players coming into the squad and it always takes time. It doesn't matter how good the player is, they take time to adapt. They have the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge and even the defence is now looking very solid indeed. Simon Mignolet is gaining confidence.

Speaking of Coutinho, and his performance in the game on Sunday, how will Burnley stop him from taking control of the match once again?

It's a tough one. Trippier, who we mentioned before, is playing very well at the moment. He'll be up against Coutinho and that will be a good test for both players, without a doubt. Trippier is a very good player. He provides a lot of assists and provides plenty of offensive momentum for Burnley. So that will be an interesting little battle. But I think, when you look at the Liverpool team, it's not just Coutinho. I know the reason he's sticking out so much at the moment is because of some of the unbelievable goals he has scored, which was what he needed to do to push himself on to the next level. But if you look at the side as a whole, they are all functioning at a good level. Lallana and Sterling have been great. Then there's Jordan Henderson. I keep hearing about how we need a replacement for Steven Gerrard - we've got one in Henderson or Emre Can. Everyone is playing very well. You don't play against Manchester City and play them off the park without being full of confidence.

Finally, Graham, have you got a prediction?

It's going to be very tough. I think, with Burnley going to the likes of City and Chelsea and getting a result, potentially, there could be another upset there for them. But I think if Liverpool play like they did against Manchester City it will be difficult for Burnley. I think there's going to be a lot of good football played without a doubt.