Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The latest mouthwatering item on the festive Premier League menu is a top-of-the-table showdown between Liverpool and Arsenal, who lock horns in Saturday evening's headline encounter at Anfield.
The Gunners boast a one-point advantage over their Merseyside counterparts at this juncture, although Aston Villa are also within touching distance and are waiting to pounce on any slip-ups from their podium rivals.
Match preview
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Refusing to hand out any early Christmas gifts to their bitter adversaries, Manchester United set up to subject Liverpool to 90 minutes of frustration last weekend, where Jurgen Klopp's troops bombarded the Red Devils' door with an incessant onslaught of attacks to no avail.
Thanks to Liverpool's sustained ruthlessness in front of goal and a handful of marvellous defensive displays - Raphael Varane in particular earned his keep - Man United travelled home with a point despite facing a staggering 34 shots, the most Liverpool have ever had in a Premier League game without scoring since 2003.
Liverpool were a far cry from the unmerciful attacking unit which put seven past the Red Devils in March, but Klopp's team reignited the blue-touch paper in Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter-final clash with West Ham United, producing a five-star display in a 5-1 crushing to set up a semi-final showdown with Fulham.
However, after witnessing his charges drop points at home for the first time this season at the weekend, Klopp conceded that he was left disappointed by a perceived lack of Anfield atmosphere in midweek and issued a rallying cry to supporters as Liverpool endeavour to avoid going scoreless in back-to-back Premier League home games for the first time since March 2021.
The hosts had made the net bulge in 26 top-flight matches on the trot before bowing to the Red Devils' defensive superiority, but their overall unbeaten run in the Premier League now stands at 10 games, and it has been nearly 14 months since Leeds United subjected Liverpool to their most recent top-flight home defeat.
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Home defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion have been all too familiar for those of an Arsenal persuasion since the Seagulls soared into the top flight, but Roberto De Zerbi's team had their wings clipped at the Emirates last weekend, where Mikel Arteta's men regained their rightful place at the top of the standings.
One week on from an agonising 1-0 loss to Aston Villa - where the Gunners were also their own worst enemies in front of goal - a similar story unfolded in the first half of Sunday's encounter, but Arsenal ensured that their earlier missed opportunities would not come back to haunt them thanks to Gabriel Jesus's header and Kai Havertz's fourth goal from seven games in the second period.
Victory over the team led by De Zerbi - who boldly claimed that Arsenal are currently the best team in the land - ensured that the Gunners would be looking down on the other 19 Premier League teams for at least a couple of hours, and Arteta's side could now top the rankings on Christmas Day for the second year running.
Of course, the 'winter champions' tag was rendered meaningless for Arsenal at the end of the 2022-23 season, but with Manchester City enduring a December drought and also postponing their title charge to battle for Club World Cup glory, the time is nigh for the Gunners to lay down another title marker.
Arteta's charges may have fallen short at the Villa Park fortress on December 9, but not since May 2022 have the Gunners lost back-to-back Premier League games on rival turf, and from their previous six away losses before being stunted in the West Midlands, Arsenal won their next road match on each occasion.
A pair of high-scoring spectaculars last season saw Arsenal sink Liverpool 3-2 at the Emirates before being held to a 2-2 draw, where the Reds came from 2-0 down to snatch a share of the spoils, but not since the days of Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla in 2012 have the Gunners emerged triumphant from a top-flight Anfield encounter.
Liverpool Premier League form:
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
Liverpool form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
Arsenal Premier League form:
Arsenal form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
Team News
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A handful of long-term Liverpool absentees will continue to watch on from the sidelines this weekend, with all of Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Joel Matip (ACL), Andrew Robertson (shoulder), Alexis Mac Allister (knee), Diogo Jota (muscle) and new knee victim Ben Doak unavailable.
Ryan Gravenberch was feared to have damaged his hamstring against Man United last weekend, but the ex-Bayern Munich man was merely suffering from a delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and is expected to return to the squad on Saturday following a midweek rest.
However, a spot among the replacements may await Gravenberch, as Curtis Jones has surely played his way into Klopp's thinking thanks to a brilliant brace in Wednesday's win over West Ham, where Dominik Szoboszlai also responded to recent criticism with a first-half rocket.
Likewise, Arsenal will head to Merseyside without the services of a few known injury victims in Jurrien Timber (knee), Fabio Vieira (groin), Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) and Thomas Partey (thigh).
Fresh problems for Mohamed Elneny (hamstring) and Jorginho (foot) have weakened Arsenal's midfield reserves further - Myles Lewis-Skelly and Emile Smith Rowe were Arsenal's only options off the bench against Brighton - but the former pair are battling to prove their fitness in time for Saturday.
However, neither man should force their way into a settled Arsenal XI which currently picks itself, as a rejuvenated Havertz seeks to continue the same vein of form which saw him awarded the Gunners' Player of the Month prize for November.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Endo, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
We say: Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal
With all due respect to West Ham United, facing a full-strength and well-rested Arsenal side will be a totally different proposition to a weakened Irons troupe for Liverpool, whose 11-year streak without an Anfield defeat to the Gunners will be at risk if Klopp's rallying cry to the crowd falls on deaf ears, which it should not.
While William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes can snuff out any central threat, Gooners may harbour concerns about the impending battle between Mohamed Salah and Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Liverpool proved on Wednesday that their Man United wastefulness was just a one-off.
Arsenal have been guilty of profligacy at times throughout the season as well, but Arteta's side remain the comeback kings, and it is simply impossible for us to pick a winner in what should be a mesmerising contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data
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