Arsenal face Liverpool this Saturday at the Emirates, with both teams currently in outstanding form. They are in fact the two most in-form teams of 2015, with Arsenal top of the form table and Liverpool second, reflecting the change in fortune both teams have indulged in so far this year. However, for Liverpool it also reflects the incessant need to produce one of their most impressive performances yet: defeat on Saturday could see a eight point gap open up between themselves and Manchester United in fourth, and an almost irretrievable nine point gap between themselves and Arsenal.
Preview: Arsenal vs Liverpool
For Arsenal, this game is also pivotal. Despite Chelsea’s dramatic win against Hull keeping the gap at the top seven points and a game in hand, Arsenal are still certainly in a title race. The fact of the matter is that their excellent form will have to continue for them to stand any chance of transferring this ambition into a reality—a solitary defeat is perhaps enough to end the chase at this stage. Arsenal themselves could still be dragged into a fourth place “rat race” if Liverpool can find victory in this game, which makes avoiding defeat equally important for Wenger’s men.
Drama seems to be guaranteed with the last twelve meetings between the two teams having eight 90th minute goals (PremierLeague.com). This was true of the fixture earlier in the season, where despite a very weak performance, it was in fact Liverpool in the form of Martin Skrtel who had to wait until the 96th minute to equalise and earn a point for the home side. Arsenal’s back line has come into question when facing Liverpool recently: a 5-1 defeat last season left many questioning the woeful defending on show that day. Over a longer period of time, it is in fact Liverpool who seem to have had suffered the longevity of these defensive frailties, with just one clean sheet in the last eighteen fixtures in the league against Arsenal. In the hope of not speaking too soon, goals should be a certainty in this game, and an injury time goal to decide the fate of one team’s season wouldn’t be at all surprising as well.
Arsenal’s injury list isn’t nearly as extensive as it has been at earlier points in the season going into this fixture. The majority of Arsenal’s key men avoided injury whilst out on International duty. Danny Welbeck was an exception though, dropped out of the England squad after scoring against Lithuania last Friday, he remains a doubt. The good news is a number of players are well on the road to recovery and back in training, including Wilshere, Debuchy, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta and even Abou Diaby, who has had an injury plagued career at Arsenal to say the least. It may be a little premature to see all four feature in Saturday’s squad, Wenger revealed little in his Thursday press conference, saying he “hasn’t decided” on whether or not they will feature yet. One thing he and every Arsenal fan has decided on is that it is an immense relief to see more players coming back than being ruled out through injury at this stage.
Predicted Lineup: Ospina, Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Walcott, Özil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud.
Meanwhile for Liverpool, their desire to bounce back with a win from the Manchester United game hasn’t been helped by Daniel Sturridge’s injury and a Steven Gerrard red card ruling him out of the game. Brendan Rodgers is hopeful that Adam Lallana, as well as the aforementioned Sturridge, will be available for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. Both players remained at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground during the International break, which may just have been enough to help them recover in time. Elsewhere Dejan Lovren and Jon Flanagan are back in training and should be available for selection.
Predicted Lineup: Mignolet, Can, Lovren, Sahko, Moreno, Sterling, Henderson, Allen, Lallana, Coutinho, Sturridge.
Both teams are in a position where nothing less than a win will do. Liverpool go into the game unbeaten in their last six away games and will make this a very difficult task for Arsenal. Despite their outstanding form, it is hard to see past the momentum of this Arsenal side, particularly lethal with Olivier Giroud firing on all cylinders. This should certainly be a very close affair, but home advantage should prove enough for Arsenal to edge it. The game kicks off at 12.45 on Saturday and leads the way for what should be another exciting and unpredictable set of Premier League fixtures.
