Two weeks into the new season, both Arsenal and Liverpool have yet to find top gear. The Gunners are having some familiar problems at the back, while the Reds are still bedding in their new summer recruits. The two English giants will have to up their game this coming Monday, though, as they face one another in an early-season showdown.
Get ready for this massive Premier League battle with our complete preview below. Also, don’t forget to take a look at the weekend’s top offerings with our previews of Manchester United vs. Newcastle and Everton vs. Manchester City.
[sc:Soccer ]Arsenal vs. Liverpool Preview
Where: Emirates Stadium, London
When: Monday, August 24, 3:00 PM ET
Line: Liverpool at Arsenal – view all EPL lines
Betting on Arsenal
Arsenal bounced back from their disastrous 2-0 defeat against West Ham with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. A deflected Alexis Sanchez header was enough to hand the Gunners their first three points of the new season. But despite dominating possession, 59 to 41, and launching 20 shots against Palace, the Gunners aren’t firing on all cylinders just yet.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Petr Cech, their much-hyped summer signing, has yet to keep a clean sheet between the sticks, and question marks can probably be raised of him on all three goals Arsenal have conceded. Defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin, meanwhile, struggled against Palace and was lucky not to get sent off.
Luckily, Alexis is back in the starting lineup after a slightly shortened break, and he immediately made his presence felt against Palace. The Chilean still lacks a bit of match sharpness, but his mere presence will be a major plus against Liverpool.
Look for him and Mesut Ozil, who was terrific against Palace, to find those dangerous spaces in front of a Liverpool defense that’s currently missing a dependable holding midfielder to shield it.
Olivier Giroud also got off the mark this season with a sublime finish to open the scoring against Palace. Giroud’s physicality gave Liverpool’s defense problems last season, as he scored a goal in each of their two meetings.
Arsenal have an outstanding home record against Liverpool. The Gunners have lost just once against the Reds in all competitions since 2000, and recorded a big 4-1 win last season.
Betting on Liverpool
The good news: Liverpool are off to very strong start this season with two wins in two games. Not only are they just one of four teams left with a 100 percent record, they’re also one of three that have yet to concede a single goal.
The bad news, though, is that Liverpool have been more lucky than good. They needed a sublime 86th minute winner from Philippe Coutinho to beat Stoke. And against newly-promoted Bournemouth, their only goal could (and probably should) have been flagged for offside. They also caught a break with another dubious call to disallow what would’ve been Bournemouth’s equalizer.
After riding his luck in the first two games, manager Brendan Rodgers will need a much better overall performance to escape the Emirates with a positive result.
His midfield combination of James Milner and captain Jordan Henderson has been rock solid to start the season, though. Henderson, in particular, is still getting used to playing as the deepest midfielder, and has done a credible job so far. Both will be crucial in helping Liverpool keep control of the middle of the park, where Arsenal usually dominate.
Meanwhile, Christian Benteke, who scored the controversial winner against Bournemouth, should be a handful for Arsenal’s defense. Back in 2013-2014, Benteke scored three of Aston Villa’s four goals against Arsenal, two of which coming in a 3-1 Villa win at the Emirates.
Writer’s Prediction
Arsenal and Liverpool cancel each other out as they play to a 1-1 draw. Create a betting account now and start playing with all the best Premier League action this weekend.
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