A look at everything you need to know ahead of the big game between Liverpool and Arsenal on Wednesday.
Despite the hushed buildup due to the FA Cup schedule, Liverpool vs Arsenal on Wednesday has to big one of the biggest games of the season so far.
A lot has changed since August, when Liverpool travelled to the Emirates and stole a 0-0 draw in an exciting clash, a game either side could’ve won. Since then, the most significant change has to be the replacement of Brendan Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp in October by Liverpool, and despite the fact that this solution hasn’t been a quick fix for the Reds, Liverpool fans will be optimistic about this one.
Arsenal are on form. They’ve only lost 1 in the last 10 games in all competitions, including a 2-1 win over Manchester City and most recently a 3-1 win at home to Sunderland in the FA Cup. Mesult Ozil, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez are all in brilliant form, and they have arguably the best centre-back in the league in Laurent Koscielney. They’re an incredibly tough side to beat.
Liverpool have been struggling at home, with a loss at home to Crystal Palace and a draw to West Brom, they’ve won a few but they haven’t really been convincing wins at Anfield. They’ve lost poorly to West Ham, Watford and Newcastle away from home, but have obviously had big wins away at Southampton, Chelsea and Manchester City. They’ve been a real mixed bag this season. They also have a very busy schedule this month, with a 2-2 draw away at Exeter in the cup, forcing a replay, not helping the cause.
The fixture has thrown up some marvellous games over the years, such as the 2014 in which Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 5-1 in their chase for the league title. 2009 produced a thrilling 4-4 draw, in which Arsenal winger Andrey Arshavin got all four of the Gunners’ goals. Last season resulted in a 2-2 draw around Christmas time, with Martin Skrtel scoring late to save a point for the home side.
The major problem that Liverpool have to deal with in this fixture is their current injury list. They could field a starting XI entirely of their injured players, a team that would include Daniel Sturridge, Phillipe Coutinho, Jordan Ibe and Jordan Henderson. It’s remarkable how the Liverpool squad are dropping like flies with injuries, either in games or in training. They lost both Phillipe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren within 10 minutes, both to hamstring injuries, when they travelled to Stoke in last week’s Capital One Cup game.
Many fancy Arsenal for this one, with fans claiming that Liverpool’s injury problems will be too large to overcome against such a league heavyweight, but Liverpool always like to step up their performance for the big games. However, with Christian Benteke their only available striker, a man that has come under much criticism, he will need to step up his game up front in order to make an impact on this solid Arsenal defence.
Liverpool vs Arsenal kicks off Wednesday evening, 7:45 at Anfield- and will be shown live on BT Sport in the UK.
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By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10
