Liverpool vs Arsenal
Arsenal visit Anfield for the Premier League match of the weekend on Monday, in the hope of beating Liverpool for the third time in succession.
The two sides recently met in the English season curtain raiser, the Community Shield, when the Gunners ran out winners on penalties, and they had a league win against the Reds in the final stages of Liverpool’s triumphant season. You could suggest that neither result was a disaster for the Reds, but head coach Jurgen Klopp will be keen to show his team can’t be outgunned by any team with regularity.
At 1.47 to win Liverpool are strong favourites, but Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will go to Anfield with plenty of confidence.
Talking Points
Another London examination for the Reds
Liverpool have already beaten one of London’s top four hopefuls and striker Sadio Mane was majestic as the Reds overcame Chelsea last week. There has been speculation around a move away from Anfield for the Senegalese hit man, but the way he played against Frank Lampard’s new look Blues showed just how valuable he is to Liverpool as part of a front three, alongside Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino.
But the manager doesn’t want to stand still and keeps adding to his squad. The signing of Diogo Jota from Wolves will keep those three strikers on their toes. He’s a player in the mould that Klopp loves, a ‘pressing monster’ as the local Wolverhampton newspaper calls him, the type of high energy forward the head coach has employed since his early days in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
While he has no problem up front, Klopp does have concerns in deeper positions and has announced that skipper Jordan Henderson is sidelined with a thing strain sustained in the win against Chelsea. But what a replacement he has in Thiago Alcantra, who replaced Henderson at Stamford Bridge and is in line for his full debut.
There’s good news for Liverpool fans with the return to fitness of centre back Joe Gomez who may well be fit to line up alongside the imperious Virgil van Dijk.
But they know that retaining their long awaited title will be difficult.
The early season Premier League 2020 betting odds suggest Manchester City are favoured over Klopp’s Reds, and he’ll be keen to show who’s boss in another tough test.
Does Arteta have the measure of Liverpool?
Well, the fact that his team has beaten the Champions twice over the past two months might just suggest that Mikel Arteta does know how to beat the Reds. During his time as Pep Guardiola’s right hand man at Manchester City he studied Klopp’s team’s progress to keep them at arm’s length. And while the Reds had already built up a handy lead over the Sky Blues before Arteta left the Etihad last term, his departure can’t have helped his old boss.
Guardiola is gushing in his praise of his former assistant and the way he’s ushered in a quiet but highly positive evolution at the Emirates is very promising for Arsenal fans, who yearn to be taken seriously again in the Premier League.
This visit to Anfield in their third game of the campaign comes at exactly the same time as last season when they lost 3-1, but the Gunners are now an entirely different proposition to the side Unai Emery brought to Merseyside. Arteta has persuaded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay at the Emirates and he has young players pushing the first 11 for a place. Young Eddie Nketiah’s name is never far away from the Premier League 2020 news and he came off the bench to score the late winner in Arsenal’s victory over West Ham last week.
After making seven changes for his team’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Leicester City, Arteta will recall Aubameyang, Granit Xhaka and Willian, but there will be no place for defensive midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who has asked for a transfer having been out of the first team picture since June.
History
In the Premier League era these two teams have been very well matched, but Liverpool have the slight edge with 22 victories to Arsenal’s 20.
And despite their recent success no-one in North London will underestimate the task they face. The Gunners have failed to win at Anfield in eight attempts and Liverpool are unbeaten at home in 60 Premier League matches.
But Arsenal come into the game on the back of six consecutive victories and have no fear of the champions.
Betting Tip
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Liverpool vs Arsenal | First Half Over 1.25 @ 1.92 |
| September 29, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
We are two games in, and already four of the big name goal scorers in this game are off the mark; Salah and Mane for Liverpool and Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette for Arsenal.
Liverpool are fancied to win and the draw is at odds of 3.88 here at SBOTOP, with Arsenal out at 6.37 to win. But I’m not so sure.
I do expect both teams to attack though and a couple of early goals would be no surprise.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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