Thursday, January 14, 2016, 7am AEDT, Anfield, watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Liverpool: Eighth
Arsenal: Top
Season record
Liverpool: 8-6-6
Arsenal: 13-3-4
Last five games
Liverpool: LWWLD
Arsenal: WWLWW
IF Arsenal wants to win the English Premier League title, it must win this game.
Up against bitter rival Liverpool ($2.87 with sportsbet.com.au), the Gunners ($2.50 with sportsbet.com.au) (Draw is $3.50 with the same bookie) are enjoying the view from the top of the Premier League, having won five of their last six.
And the man at the helm of the Gunners is under no illusions about the challenge they are set to face against a Liverpool that i beginning to welcome back several key players from injury.
Manager Arsene Wenger says he has sounded the alarm with his talented playing group about the “ferocious battle” they are about to enter on Thursday morning.
“Momentum creates confidence and that’s vital at this level,” Wenger said at a press conference ahead of the game.
“Overall, in December and January, we have been consistent and that’s important as we go into an important part of the season with many big games.
”Consistency is a good basis for belief.
One thing that will give the Kop plenty of hope was the horrid performance the Gunners rolled out against Southampton a couple of weeks ago. In that match, Arsenal was comprehensively out played by a side that fired in three second half goals in a game that severely undermined the Gunners’ title claims.
But they bounced back with three straight wins, including a victory over fellow title rival Manchester City, 2-1, and a scrappy 1-0 result over relegation battler Newcastle, most recently.
Defender Laurent Koscielny scored the only goal in that game, which consigned to a fourth match without a win.
“It was hard work, but we prepared ourselves mentally,” Wenger said.
“We were not at our best but we had to dig deep and we can do that when needed.
The Reds are beginning to welcome back a host of key players who had been on the sidelines struggling with injury in recent weeks.
They will still miss the hamstrung quartet of Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Philippe Coutinho, but Klopp is set to welcome back a pair of powerful centre backs in Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho, while veteran play maker James Milner, and midfield men Jordon Ibe and Jordan Henderson could all be back in Reds’ colours.
But they have double trouble this week, with Manchester United coming to town on Monday.
“It’s always a big challenge to play against clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United,” he said.
“But we have shown a plan against good footballing teams.
”We have to make good decisions in the right moment.
“We are looking forward to these games.“
Klopp’s good run early has been tainted by the injuries, the club managing two recent 1-0 wins, but dropping results to the Geordies (2-0) and most recently West Ham, also 2-0.
In that match, Liverpool enjoyed a mountain of possession, but, as has so often been the case, lacked any semblance of attacking flair as striker Christian Benteke was well held.
To add insult to injury, towering former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll – who was such a disappointment in Reds colours – was the man who put paid to their hopes.
Arsenal, too, has had some luck with injury, with Tomas Rosicky and number two goal keeper David Ospina set to join the squad, but key figures Alexis Sanchez – the club’s second top scorer – Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck all still on the long term injured list.
On the transfer front, Liverpool has pounced on big Queens Park Rangers defender Steven Caulker, who heads to Anfield on loan after another loan stint at Southampton. Caulker has struggled for first team action and it could be a similar story here, with Klopp welcoming back the aforementioned defensive men.
The Gunners are yet to make a move – surprise surprise – recalling Isaac Hayden from his loan stint at Hull City, but are likely to spend big on Spanish star striker Nolito, with a deal reportedly close. We’ve heard that before, but they are also set to seize on Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny from Basel. Both players would be welcome additions to a side that is missing a couple of its stars due to long term injury.
The last time these two powerhouse teams played at Anfield, they fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw in December 2014.
Wunderkind Philippe Coutinho scored in the 45th minute to give Liverpool the lead, but it was short lived as Debuchy equalised just two minutes later, on the half time horn.
That man Giroud put the Gunners back in front on 64 minutes, but Martin Skrtel – so often Arsenal’s thorn in its side – gave Liverpool a share of the points – in the 97th minute.
Could we be in for another thriller?
Let’s hope so.
Possible teams
Liverpool: Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Kolo Touré, Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno, Lucas Leiva, Emre Can, James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana, Christian Benteke
Arsenal: Petr Cech, Hector Bellerín, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Matthieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey, Joel Campbell, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud
Predictions
Match result: Arsenal wins ($2.60 with sportsbet.com.au)
Correct match score: Arsenal wins 2-0 ($12 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Total match goals: Under 2.5 goals ($1.87 with sportsbet.com.au)
Arsenal is top of the ladder, among the best attacking sides in the competition and perhaps hell bent on giving Arsene Wenger a fourth title at the helm. These are all negatives for a Liverpool side that has not beaten the Gunners in the past four contests between these two teams in the league. The Gunners are on a three match tear and have lost just once in their past 10 matches. It just feels like it’s all coming up Millhouse for Wenger’s men as the head to Anfield. We are going to hit you with a heap of facts that suggest this fixture could be a high scoring one, then tell you that under 2.5 goals is a good bet. This fixture has seen five hat tricks, more than any other match up in Premier League history, the past nine games between these two clubs yielding 35 goals at an average of 3.9 per match. BUT: Liverpool has scored just 22 goals in their 20 league fixtures so far this season and only four other teams have found the net fewer times. They have just two goals in their past four matches. By contrast, Arsenal has 34 goals this season, comfortably in the top five of the league, but the Gunners have not scored more than two goals in a match since December 6. We feel like this adds up to a low scoring affair and we reckon the Premier League clean sheets record holder Petr Cech could be adding another shut out to his impressive record.
First goal scorer tips
Liverpool
Christian Benteke ($6 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Sometimes, the grass is not always greener on the other side. This is something Christian Benteke has found out the hard way. An Aston Villa legend, Benteke once scored goals for fun. It has not quite been like that since his big money move to Anfield in the off season. A beast of a man, Benteke has all the tools to be one of the Premier League’s best strikers, but a lack of supply has hurt his ability to make an impact at Liverpool. Has just the six goals in the league this season after banging 13 for Villa last year, but did bag the match winner against Bournemouth and will be hoping to put one in against a bigger scalp.
Nathaniel Clyne ($26 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Another man who has not lived up to the hype at Anfield after his move from Southampton. It seems Liverpool has made a habit in the past couple of years of buying stand out players from smaller clubs and turning them into less-than-stand-out players when they pull on a Liverpool shirt. This backman managed three goals for Southampton last year, but has yet to register, despite appearing 20 times in the league so far. Clyne needs to get on his bike against the Gunners and attack from the wing. If he can get forward, he will give himself chance to break his duck at long odds.
Arsenal
Olivier Giroud ($6.50 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Arsenal has scored the first goal of the match on 14 occasions in the league this season – more often than any other team. Let’s hope there is not too much of a tax on the odds due to this stat. Many refuse to acknowledge it, but the stats don’t lie – Olivier Giroud is in the upper echelon of strikers in the Premier League. The beautiful French man’s consistency of performance over the past few seasons has been a great feature of his game and this season has not been any different. The tower of power is again quietly leading the Gunners’ goal scoring with 10 in the league and 16 in all competitions. the next best is Alexis Sanchez with nine over all and he is not in action, putting the spotlight on Giroud even more fiercely. Back him in and watch him deliver.
Mesut Ozil ($11 with Sportsbet.com.au)
The darling of the Arsenal faithful, the torrid season of injury and expectation of last campaign is well behind Ozil as he serves it up on a platter to his fellow attackers. Yes, we know he leads the league in assists, but he is in some serious form and his effort in skewering Bournemouth show he is capable of getting on the board. Ozil always has plenty of ball in the attacking third and, at times, he can be unselfish to a fault, but if you are looking for a little bit more value for your first goal scorer tips, then the goggly eyed German is certainly worth your consideration.
