Having been beaten by Manchester United at Anfield in the last match before the international break, the trip to the Emirates is a must-win match for Brendan Rodgers’ side if they are to achieve their aims of securing Champions League football for the second year in a row.
Arsenal, after what was a relatively shaky start to the season, have come back strong and their fine run of form has carried them well into the top four slots and they could even (however briefly) claim second place if they manage to beat the Reds on Saturday with Manchester City not playing until Monday.
The match between these two back in December finished 2-2 but Liverpool have a torrid away record against the Gunners and they have only won once in north London since 2000 when a goal from cult hero Titi Camara gave the Reds all three points.
Liverpool’s task will not be made any easier this time around with a number of fitness doubts going into the fixture. Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana may well miss this fixture whilst Martin Skrtel and Steven Gerrard also miss out after picking up suspensions in an ill-tempered match against Manchester United last time out. Arsene Wenger also has a few injury worries with Danny Welbeck limping off in England’s 4-0 win over Lithuania, however Mesut Ozil is expected to recover from illness in time to play.
Liverpool’s defeat against Man United aside, both teams are on exceptional runs of form and this should be a very exciting encounter between two top quality attacking outfits.
Arsenal v Liverpool Betting Tips
- Draw and both teams to score – We’re backing another score draw between these two sides on Saturday. Martin Skrtel’s absence will leave a big hole in the Liverpool defence which Arsenal’s raft of attacking talent should be able to exploit. However, Liverpool look a much more resilient side now than they did earlier in the season and you can back a score draw at 19/5 with BetVictor.
- Olivier Giroud to score first – The big Frenchman has been on an excellent run of form recently which has seen the former Montpellier man score nine goals in his previous nine matches. With Skrtel out, he will have the chance to be more dominant in the air and at 9/2 with Sky Bet, you wouldn’t bet against him.
- Jordan Henderson to score at anytime – The former Sunderland midfielder has had a very impressive season so far and at odds of 8/1 with Ladbrokes he could be a good bet to get himself on the scoresheet. He scored in Liverpool’s recent win over Swansea and also scored a screamer against Manchester City.
- Match to feature over 3.5 goals – As we said, both teams are very good going forward and this could result in a high scoring game. Three out of the last five matches have featured more than 3.5 goals and you can back it being four in six with BetVictor at 15/8