LATE GOALS

Liverpool's equaliser at Anfield on Saturday could not have come at a worse possible time for the Clarets. Had they gone in ahead we could be talking about a famous victory, instead the scores were level and the complexion of the game had been turned on its head.

There was a stroke of good luck about Georgino Wijnaldum's equaliser but Burnley conceding goals in the final minutes of a half is now happening too often to be coincidental.

This was the ninth time they've conceded in the 45th or 90th minutes of a game and it's a habit which is costing them valuable points. It was an issue raised post-game in a couple of interviews which perhaps suggests it's something Sean Dyche has spoken to the players about.

Burnley have only conceded 42 Premier League goals this season so nearly a quarter are coming at the right end of the first half or second half. Whether it's an issue of concentration or approach it's a habit that desperately needs kicking.

BROKEN RECORDS

Dyche said after the game that he was beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to Burnley's away day woe this season and it's understandable why.

The Clarets have, at times, been hugely disappointing on the road but they've also turned in some good displays and it's a mystery how they only have two points away from home from 14 league outings.

Their last seven Premier League away defeats have all been by just one goal and, on the subject of broken records, they have lost 2-1 at Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Talk about fine margins.

They failed to make the most of a numerical advantage for an hour at City but at Tottenham and Arsenal they were unlucky with decisions that went against them and the Anfield equaliser was another body blow.

Performances, certainly since mid-December, have been good enough to collect more points than they have done, but hard luck stories count for nothing in the table and Burnley would take an average performance that yields three huge points at Sunderland next weekend.

SETTLED DEFENCE

Burnley's central defenders were, once again, outstanding at Anfield. Ben Mee and Michael Keane have looked a natural partnership since they came together midway through the Championship-winning campaign and they have improved on that understanding since.

This season they have spent all 2,520 minutes of the Clarets' Premier League season next to each other at the heart of defence and they compliment each other perfectly. They sit third and fourth in the league for most blocks per game and third (Mee) and seventh for clearances.

But it isn't just the central defenders who contribute to the settled look at the back. The back four of Matt Lowton, Keane, Mee and Stephen Ward have started together in 46 of Burnley's last 51 league games.

It's a remarkable record and with Tom Heaton behind them it's a unit that understands each other perfectly.