THE DETAILS
Venue – Emirates Stadium, London
Referee – Paul Tierney
Date & Time – Wednesday, July 15th @ 20:15
Current Odds – Arsenal 11/4, Draw 14/5, Liverpool 17/20
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Three games remain. Two wins and a draw will take Liverpool to 100 points, equalling Manchester City’s record from 2017/18. Winning all three fixtures would take The Reds to a staggering 102 points.
After last season’s 97 points, and now this season’s title-winning performance, there’s little else can be said about Jürgen Klopp’s more-than-mighty Redmen. Absolutely staggering.
FORM
Arsenal Form
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team have won four, drawn one and lost three games in all competitions since June.
The Gunners will certainly have one eye on Saturday evening’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester City when they face Liverpool.
Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Europa League are quickly disappearing after they lost 2-1 to Spurs in the north London derby on Sunday.
Liverpool Form
Liverpool have won three, drawn two and lost one since returning to Premier League action in June. The 1-1 draw with Burnley was the team’s first dropped points at Anfield in over a year and a half.
The Reds should have beaten Burnley and actually played quite well to create so many opportunities against a side employing such a low block defensive approach. However, a combination of poor finishing and a great performance from Burnley’s Nick Pope meant Klopp’s men had to settle for just a point.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal Team News
Mikel Arteta has several players unavailable for selection for Arsenal.
Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Gabriel Martinelli and Pablo Marí are all out through injury. Mesut Özil faces a late fitness test on a back injury.
Edward Nketiah is suspended for the Liverpool game while Mattéo Guendouzi is listed as being unavailable due to an ‘Internal Disciplinary Matter’ following his on-field antics in the defeat at Brighton.
Arteta normally sets Arsenal up in a 3-4-3 formation which could mean a very, very open game is on the cards at the Emirates Stadium.
Liverpool Team News
Club captain Jordan Henderson and defender Joël Matip are out of Liverpool’s remaining games while James Milner is also a doubt. Milner is still suffering from the hamstring injury he suffered in the 0-0 draw at Everton in June.
The Reds don’t have any players suspended for this game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keïta are likely to come back into the starting lineup at Arsenal.
Liverpool will probably go with a full-strength front trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Arsenal XI (3-4-3) – Martinez; Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac; Bellerín, Xhaka, Ceballos, Tierney; Saka, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Liverpool XI (4-3-3) – Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keïta; Salah, Firmino, Mané
WHEN THEY LAST MET
Liverpool won 3-1 at Anfield when the teams met there in the league last August. Goals from Joël Matip and Mohamed Salah (x2) gave The Reds the victory that day. Lucas Torreira scored a late consolation goal for The Gunners.
The sides drew 5-5 at Anfield in a thrilling League Cup encounter with both sides giving some game-time to youngsters and fringe players on the night. Liverpool won 5-4 on penalties after the 5-5 draw.
PREDICTION
ARSENAL 2 – 3 LIVERPOOL
When getting to the end of a season, some games can take on a life of their own. I think Wednesday night’s fixture could be a fantastic game with both sides just going for the cut-throat approach. There should be goals and plenty of excitement and I think Liverpool will take all three points. Yes, I do realise I’ve probably pretty much guaranteed that it will be a dour 0-0 draw now…
