Liverpool will be hosting Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday as Jurgen Klopp’s men look to bounce back with a win after their defeat against West Ham United before going into the international break. Liverpool has dropped as many as 9 points in their last 6 Premier League games with the Merseyside club blowing away leads in 3 fixtures against Brentford, Manchester City and Brighton. On the other hand, their opponents Arsenal are flying high after winning their last 3 games and being unbeaten in their last 10 games, winning 8 and drawing 2.
Liverpool are only 2 points ahead of Arsenal and 4 points off the top of the table and they cannot afford to slip up anymore if they are to go all the way to the title. Jurgen Klopp will be demanding a positive response from his players on Saturday and maintain his dominant record vs the Gunners.
Let’s take a look at how Klopp will set his team up vs Arsenal on Saturday.
Defence
Alisson Becker will start in goal and will look to put up a better performance after his poor outing last time around.
Virgil van Djik and Joel Matip will start at the heart of the backline as they will look to keep a cleansheet. The only change in defence will be Kostas Tsimikas replacing Andrew Robertson as the Scot suffered a tight hamstring during the international break. Trent Alexander Arnold will start at right-back and will keep trying to create chances for the Liverpool attackers.
Midfield
With Klopp having very few options to choose from in the midfield, the injury scare to Jordan Henderson will be a massive blow. Although he was seen at the AXA training ground yesterday, he still remains a doubt for the clash. But Klopp will be hoping that the last-minute fitness tests will be a positive one for Henderson.
Fabinho will be a guaranteed starter in the middle of the park and along with him, it is believed that Thiago Alcantara will take the field in place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on Saturday. Thiago came on from the bench in the last 2 games for Liverpool and is hopeful to get a start after returning back from injury.
The likes of Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot are still out injured. James Milner and Ox will make the bench.
Attack
Roberto Firmino’s injury will mean that the front three of Sadio Mane, Mohammad Salah and Diogo Jota will start the game on Saturday. Mohammad Salah is in fine form with 10 goals and 7 assists already recorded in the league. The likes of Divock Origi who scored in the last gameweek and Takumi Minamino will start from the bench and hope to make an impact when they come on.
