Players of Liverpool participate in a training session on December 19, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Players of Liverpool participate in a training session on December 19, 2025 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Things spotted in Liverpool training ahead of the Premier League clash against Burnley.
Liverpool aim to stretch their unbeaten run to 12 matches when they face Burnley at Anfield.
The Reds have not suffered defeat since their chastening 4-1 loss at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. Improvements have been made from Arne Slot’s side, although performances have still to convince significant sections of fans. A lack of entertainment has been bemoaned, with Liverpool struggling to create clear-cut chances in games.
They have found low blocks difficult to break down - and that’s what they’ll again come up against facing Burnley. The Clarets are trying to somehow get themselves out of a Premier League relegation scrap and they sit eight points adrift of safety. Scott Parker’s side would undoubtedly be happy with a draw.
Slot has had injury problems of late, although they are easing. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni won’t play again this season because of serious knee issues, while Alexander Isak is recovering from a broken leg. Meanwhile, Mo Salah will feature for Egypt in their African Cup of Nations third-place play-off before returning to Merseyside next week.
Liverpool were put through their paces at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, with the club uploading footage. And it did not appear that Alexis Mac Allister was part of the session, with the midfielder not spotted. It does not necessarily mean that Mac Allister will be unavailable against Burnley, as he could well have been undertaking an individual plan, his workload is being managed or he needed a day off for other reasons.
But if Mac Allister is absent, it will mean that Slot is likely to deploy a three-man engine room of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szobsozlai and Curtis Jones. Wataru Endo was back on the bench for the 4-1 FA Cup win over Barnsley.
There were a number of youngsters who supplemented Liverpool’s group. They included 19-year-old defender Amara Nallo, who could add cover on the bench. Fellow teenager Kieran Morrison, who can play in midfield or attack, rubbed shoulders with Virgil van Dijk and Co. along with Tommy Pilling.
Calvin Ramsay is once again expected to be in the Premier League squad. With Bradley’s injury blow, there are calls from portions of fans for Ramsay to be given chances at right-back, with Jeremie Frimpong the only out-and-out option fit.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Slot admitted it’s a ‘big chance’ for Ramsay, 22, to be involved but he has ‘better options’ at present. The Liverpool boss said: “It’s great for Calvin where he is at the moment. A half year ago, he came back to this club to the under-21s. Everyone playing for the under-21s is hoping for a chance [in the first team]. It is big chance that he is having now to come to the first team.
“When someone is really unlucky when the injuries we are having like we are now, there is always a player that benefits from that. Calvin is one of them, he is with us, but I still think I have better options to play.
“The moment I am running out of options, he showed in the one game that he played against Palace, and the moments he trained with us, that he is good enough to be in and around our players, and then you have to wait for a chance to show this to the rest of the world. But at this moment in time, I have, in my opinion, still better options than him.
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