Premier League champions Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield on Monday night as Jurgen Klopp looks to get the better of Mikel Arteta for the first time. Both teams have won their first two matches this season and have a chance to create some momentum while making a statement to the rest of the league.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sport
English Premier League | Monday 28 September | Anfield | 21:15
To Win (90 Mins)
Liverpool 5/10
Draw 37/10
Arsenal 5/1
Liverpool
After winning 2-0 at Chelsea last weekend, Klopp’s men will be looking to claim a win against high-flyers Arsenal, something that they failed to do in their last two meetings with Arteta’s side.
The Reds lost the Community Shield on penalties last month, while their last Premier League meeting at the Emirates Stadium ended in a 2-1 defeat. At Anfield though, where they’ve gone three Premier League seasons without losing, the Merseysiders will be confident of putting Arsenal to the sword.
Liverpool have taken maximum points in each of their last four home meetings against the Gunners in the Premier League and are 5/10 to make it five consecutive wins at their fortress Anfield.
After a morale-boosting victory at Stamford Bridge last weekend where new signing Thiago Alcantara starred on his debut, outpassing every Chelsea player despite playing just 45 minutes, Reds fans will be high on confidence heading into Monday’s game.
Liverpool are expected to line up in their usual 4-3-3 formation with Joe Gomez likely to return to the starting eleven to partner Virgil van Dijk, while Fabinho, who impressed in Gomez’s absence at centre-back last weekend, should move back into his favoured defensive midfield role.
Jordan Henderson is a major doubt with a thigh injury and could be replaced by Thiago. The Spaniard will be eager to put in a midfield masterclass on his home debut and help his new team maintain their 100 percent start to the campaign.
In two matches this season, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have scored five goals between them and created 16 chances. The trio will look to wreak havoc on the Arsenal defence, but if they need a little help, Klopp won’t hesitate to call on new signing Diogo Jota, who joined from Wolves for £45m.
Arsenal
Arsenal will hope to overcome hefty odds by ousting the Premier League champions at their fortress Anfield on Monday night. The Gunners were one of three teams to beat Liverpool in their title-winning campaign last term and got the better of them last month to win the Community Shield.
Arteta will no doubt take confidence from the fact that he’s won the last two meetings against Klopp, but a trip to Anfield – where they’ve lost four in a row – will undoubtedly provide a much sterner test.
You can never write-off the Gunners who are led by one of the world’s most feared strikers, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but it’s been eight long years since Arsenal won a league game at Anfield, which doesn’t bode well for their chances.
The north Londoners certainly have the firepower to hurt Liverpool, especially if their defence is leaky again as witnessed in their last home game against Leeds United, which they won 4-3. But if Arteta is to mastermind a third consecutive win over Klopp, Arsenal’s three-man defence will need to be rock solid.
Gabriel Magalhaes has impressed since arriving from Lille but the young Brazilian will have his work cut out to stop the deadly front-three of Salah, Mane and Firmino, while Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of Kieran Tierney whose strong presence in defence and attack was missed in the 2-1 win over West Ham.
The Gunners will pin their hopes on Aubameyang to produce the goods up front as he so consistently does, but Arteta will need a massive effort from every player to overcome the league champions on their own turf.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the north Londoners will need a near-perfect performance against the champions if they are to come away with a point, let alone three, but if there’s one thing we’ve learnt from Arteta’s side…write them off at your own peril.
Prediction: Liverpool Win (5/10)
Liverpool are unbeaten in a club-record 60 Premier League matches at Anfield, with 49 wins and 11 draws. The Reds will aim to keep their undefeated home record intact and while I expect Arteta’s side to put up a good fight, I’m quite confident the champions will do enough to secure all three points.
Written by Chad Nagel
