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Arsenal vs Liverpool preview, how to watch, team news & predictions

By on October 24, 2024

Oleksander Zinchenko Arsenal

Arsenal will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League when we take on Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Our title challenge was derailed by a disastrous 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last weekend. We had the opportunity to go top of the table with a win on the south coast but it didn’t go to plan. After a cagey start, Arsenal were left with another mountain to climb after William Saliba was sent off in controversial circumstances.

Evanilson looked to get on the end of Leandro Trossard’s awful pass back and Saliba instinctively pulled him down just inside his own half. The referee initially gave the Frenchman a yellow card – which seemed fair given how far from goal the Bournemouth striker was and how much he had left to do to score. However, the VAR sent the referee to the monitor and he subsequently changed his mind to send Saliba off in the 30th minute.

Arsenal did well to hold out until the 70th minute when we were undone by a superb corner routine that led to Malcom Christie’s opener. Justin Kluivert then made it 2-0 from the spot minutes later after Raya tripped Evanilson in the area following another poor back pass from Jacub Kiwior. There was no way back for Arsenal and we slumped to our first defeat of the season.

Mikel Arteta has issued a rallying cry to the players and fans ahead of the crucial clash with Liverpool as he knows defeat would be a huge dent in our title hopes. Last weekend’s defeat has left us sitting third in the table – three points off Man City and four adrift of leaders Liverpool. A loss on Sunday would open that gap to seven points, and while it’s still early in the season, the last thing we want is to be chasing down the likes of Liverpool and City.

Worryingly, Arsenal produced another poor performance in midweek when we took on Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium. Many fans hoped the players would come out and write last weekend’s wrong by putting in a five-star display. Sadly, what we got was a sloppy performance – especially in the second half – as we limped to a 1-0 win in the Champions League. We needed an own goal to win the game and although we created a few half-decent chances, we couldn’t take them and Trossard’s late penalty miss summed up Arsenal’s evening.

On the positive side, Arsenal have the chance to get back on track if we beat Liverpool on Sunday. It would close the gap on the Merseysiders to just one point and put us right back in the title fight. It’s not going to be easy though as not only are Arsenal facing an injury crisis, but Liverpool head to the capital in excellent form.

They’ve won seven of their eight Premier League games so far and won all of their three Champions League matches as well as a 5-1 win over West Ham in the League Cup, so Arne Slot has enjoyed a superb start to life as Jurgen Klopp’s successor. The Reds edged out Chelsea 2-1 at Anfield last week but victory on Sunday would be a real statement.

How to watch

Unsurprisingly, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Subscribers can follow all the action on TV or via the Sky Go app.

Alternatively, fans can buy Arsenal vs Liverpool tickets through the club websites or via a trusted resellers like Seatsnet.com.

Team news

Arsenal have a number of key injury concerns to worry about. Bukayo Saka is a major doubt having missed the last two games with a hamstring injury that he picked up while away with England. Arteta says he’ll give Saka every chance to prove his fitness but he didn’t train on Friday so his availability is in serious doubt.

Jurrien Timber is also facing a race against time to be passed fit as he’s still not returned to the training pitch following a muscle injury that he sustained against PSG earlier this month. Riccardo Calafiori is expected to miss out against Liverpool after limping off with a knee injury against Shakhtar in midweek.

With Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney still out, Arsenal are facing a crisis in the full-back department. We’ll also be without our rock at the back with Saliba suspended following his sending off last week.

Martin Odegaard is another absentee as the Gunners skipper is still working his way back from an ankle injury that’s kept him out since September, so Arsenal could be without several key players for this crucial game.

As for Liverpool, they’ll be without Diogo Joto after he picked up an injury against RB Leipzig in midweek. Alisson Becker is also missing as the Brazilian is still out with a thigh problem.

Harvey Elliot is ruled out with an ankle injury while Federico Chiesa faces a late fitness test as he bids to return from a muscle problem.

Predicted score

This is a hugely important game for Arsenal’s season. We need to bounce back from the Bournemouth defeat and another loss tomorrow could spell the end of our title charge before it really even began.

Arteta is confident the players will be ready to produce a top class display on Sunday and we’ll need it if we want to get the better of Arne Slot’s well drilled side. Liverpool look hard to beat this season, and with the firepower they have up front they will always be a big threat.

If Calafiori and Timber miss out along with Saliba, I think it will be a tough afternoon for Arsenal’s defence as Kiwior and Zinchenko would likely have to start which doesn’t fill me with confidence against the likes of Luis Diaz, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez.

If some of our injured stars are fit, I’d be confident of picking up a win. However, I think Saka is the only one who has a chance of being in the squad and even then he won’t be fully fit. Therefore, I’m predicting a draw on Sunday. Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool