Liverpool will entertain Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday afternoon looking to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table. The Reds are still unbeaten in the league and currently, have a six-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur going into this weekend. However, the Gunners managed to take points off them in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season so Unai Emery would know what it takes to stop Jurgen Klopp’s side from earning a victory.
It is expected that Klopp will opt for a 4-3-3 formation to counter Arsenal’s fluid 4-2-3-1 set-up this weekend. If their earlier match-up was anything to go by, we would be in for an entertaining game of football at Merseyside on Saturday.
Team News
Liverpool
James Milner is unlikely to play this weekend while Alberto Moreno and Dominic Solanke are major doubts for this encounter. Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain long-term casualties for the home team.
Arsenal
Laurent Koscielny will be in for a late fitness test ahead of the clash at Anfield. Both Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi are unlikely to feature this weekend as they are in a race against time to be fit for this contest.
Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Emile Smith-Rowe and Danny Welbeck are all sidelined because of long-term injuries.
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino
Arsenal
Bernd Leno; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny, Sead Kolasinac; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Key Men
Liverpool
Virgil Van Dijk will once again be integral for Jurgen Klopp’s side in central defence as he looks to neutralise the threat of Aubameyang. Both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane needs to have a good game if the Reds are to earn a victory on Saturday afternoon.
Arsenal
Aubameyang is in a rich vein of form and will need to find the back of the net while up against the meanest defence in the league. Bernd Leno will be expected to pull off some saves if he is to stop the Liverpool attack from scoring this weekend.
Odds
Liverpool win – 1/2
Draw – 7/2
Arsenal win – 19/4
