Liverpool were brought back to Earth with a thud as a rejuvenated and boisterous Leicester City invoked last season’s spirit and managed to upset the odds and emerged 3-1 winners against Liverpool who were expected to make a turnaround after the confident 2-0 win over high-flying Tottenham Hotspur in their last game. But it was not to be as the Foxes made sure that Liverpool continued their dubious record of losing to relegation-threatened candidates this season. In a way, this has been Liverpool’s issue for a long time and the fact that they haven’t been able to iron out the flaws and come up with any solution speaks volumes of the repair work that still needs to be done.
Now, they face an even more difficult task, at least on paper when they welcome Arsenal to Anfield. The Reds had started off the season with a bang against the same oppositions with an end-to-end match where they had emerged victorious with a 4-3 scoreline. Things might not be so open this time around with both the teams more focused and a loss at this stage will be harmful to both of them.
TRIVIA
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last three home Premier League games against Arsenal (W1 D2 L0).
- There have been 16 goals scored in those three games at Anfield at an average of 5.3 per game, with the most recent game there ending in a 3-3 draw last season.
- The Reds have only kept two clean sheets in their last 22 Premier League games against the Gunners and none in their 10 meetings at Anfield since a 1-0 win in February 2006.
- Jurgen Klopp is aiming to become the first Liverpool manager since Gerard Houllier in 1999/2000 to do a Premier League home/away double over Arsene Wenger in a single season.
- Klopp has exactly the same record as Liverpool manager after 56 Premier League games as Brendan Rodgers (P56 W27 D16 L13 and 97 points).
- Olivier Giroud has scored five goals in his last seven Premier League appearances against Liverpool, including three in his last two at Anfield.
TEAM NEWS & PREDICTED LINE-UP
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3)
Jordan Henderson appears unlikely to recover from a foot injury which has seen him miss a chunk of the recent action to face the Gunners. Dejan Lovren is still a doubt although he has returned to training. Ovie Ejaria and Marko Grujic are still doubtful, while Danny Ings is a long-term absentee for the Reds.
Mignolet; Clyne; Lovren, Matip, Milner; Wijnaldum, Can, Lallana; Coutinho, Firmino, Mane
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1)
Gunners skipper Laurent Koscielny and midfielder Aaron Ramsey have both returned to full training but Mesut Ozil is not expected to recover from flu in time. Mohamed Elneny will be out for around three weeks with an ankle injury. Santi Cazorla has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Gibbs; Chamberlain, Coquelin; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez
BETTING ODDS
LIVERPOOL- 23/20
DRAW- 13/5
ARSENAL- 13/5
TRIVIA COURTESY- OPTA
