Liverpool host Arsenal on Saturday as they attempt to tighten their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds saw off Newcastle in style on Boxing Day, racking up a 4-0 win and going six points clear at the top of the Premier League, with Manchester City going down 2-1 at Leicester City in their game.
The win over Rafa Benitez’s side also means Liverpool are still unbeaten as we reach the halfway mark in the Premier League season.
Arsenal’s Boxing Day was much less satisfying; the Gunners could only manage a 1-1 draw away to Chris Hughton’s Brighton despite initially taking the lead through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The result leaves Unai Emery’s side two points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
Read on for Liverpool vs Arsenal live stream options, team news, predicted XIs, stats and TV channel info.
When is Liverpool vs Arsenal?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Anfield
Date: Saturday, 29 December
Kick-off: 5.30 PM GMT
Match preview
Where do you start with this Liverpool side? They win ugly, they win with style, but either way, they just keep winning. Jurgen Klopp’s men have won their last eight Premier League games, scoring 22 goals and conceding just twice in the process.
That run has seen the Reds overtake Manchester City in the Premier League, extending their lead at the top to six points heading into match week 20. Moreover, Liverpool have also reduced City’s seemingly unassailable goal difference, with both sides having by this stage scored 36 more goals than they have conceded this season.
But in Liverpool’s next opponents, Arsenal, they face the last side to take any Premier League points away from them, with the two teams playing out an intense 1-1 draw in early November.
The main problem for the Gunners is that the aforementioned result came when they were in the midst of a 22-game unbeaten run and looking incredibly resilient under the new Unai Emery regime. Arsenal’s run was halted when they were beaten 3-2 by a resurgent Southampton on December 16 and the north Londoners have now managed just one victory in their last four games in all competitions.
Still, in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal have the Premier League’s top scorer so far.
Where can I watch live?
Liverpool vs Arsenal is available to watch live in the UK on BT Sport 1, channel 413 for Sky customers and channel 527 for Virgin Media users.
The game is available to watch on fuboTV for US-based viewers.
How do Liverpool compare to the Arsenal Invincibles?
Liverpool still have a long way to go if they are to match Arsenal’s famed invincible season in 2003/04, but the Reds haven’t tasted defeat in any of their opening 19 Premier League matches so far this term, stretching their overall league run to 20 games.
That has naturally led fans and pundits to wonder whether Klopp’s side can really go all 38 games without defeat.
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren recently talked up his side’s chances of completing an unbeaten season, saying: “Arsenal did it before so why not?
“Of course it will be a challenge but this is what we want, we know we can do it.”
It’s a bold claim, but the Reds have only conceded seven goals from 19 games so far, easily the best record in the division, while scoring a very impressive 43. In Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, they have defensive leaders just as strong as Sol Campbell and Jens Lehmann. And on their day, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino can be just as potent as Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp.
Arsenal 2003/04 vs. Liverpool 2018/19 after 19 games:
Games: 19-19
Points: 45-51
Wins: 13-16
Draws: 6-3
Defeats: 0-0
Goals: 35-43
Conceded: 12-7
Clean sheets: 8-12
Position: 2nd-1st
There is a long road ahead for Liverpool, but coming through their next two games against Arsenal and Manchester City unscathed will seriously enhance their title chances and their prospects of an unbeaten season.
READ MORE: Liverpool 4-0 Newcastle: Every player rated as Klopp’s side complete unbeaten half-season to secure six-point lead
Salah vs Aubameyang: who is favourite for the Golden Boot?
In Aubameyang, Arsenal have the Premier League’s top goalscorer so far with 13 goals. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, is just one place behind him, level with Harry Kane on 12.
Aubameyang has averaged 0.79 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, while Salah’s average stands at 0.68.
The most terrifying aspect of Salah’s season so far is that the Egyptian seems to be grabbing goals without actually moving up the gears and hitting top form; there is so much more to come from the 26-year-old this term.
Mohamed Salah has scored his first goal at Anfield in 276 Premier League minutes.
His goal from the spot doubles Liverpool's advantage. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/ZBMOw7XTA3
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 26, 2018
Aubameyang’s scoring rate has been so impressive when you consider that Arsenal are fifth in the Premier League and currently 13 points behind Liverpool.
The form of Harry Kane will be very important as these ferocious forwards battle it out for the Premier League Golden Boot, but Liverpool’s rampant form so far just about gives Salah the edge.
Can Arsenal breach the Anfield fortress?
It feels like forever since Liverpool last lost a Premier League game at Anfield. In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to a 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace in April 2017 for the last time the Reds slipped to a league defeat at Anfield; a run spanning an incredible 30 games.
That home form has been vital in Liverpool re-establishing themselves among the Premier League’s top four and, now, as title challengers.
Liverpool have conceded just seven goals after their first 19 matches of a Premier League season, equaling the record set by Chelsea in 2008/09.
Klopp has built a fortress.
pic.twitter.com/XeULFpVQNR
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 27, 2018
Arsenal haven’t won a Premier League game at Anfield since September 2012, when Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla gave the Gunners a 2-0 victory, and with Liverpool conceding just two goals at home all season, you cannot see that changing this time, even with Aubameyang leading the line.
It is one of the hardest tests Liverpool are likely to face at home this season. But Klopp and his players have already faced Manchester City, Manchester United and a Merseyside derby with Everton without tasting defeat.
Head-to-head
Saturday’s game will be the 226th time Liverpool and Arsenal have locked horns in all competitions, making it one of the most historic clashes in English football.
Liverpool lead the way in this fixture with 86 wins to Arsenal’s 78, with the Reds now unbeaten in their last seven meetings with the Gunners. Arsenal’s last victory against Liverpool was a 4-1 Emirates win in April 2015.
Liverpool wins: 86 Draws: 61 Arsenal wins: 78
Team news
James Milner missed Liverpool’s Boxing Day rout of Newcastle with a muscle injury and do so again on Saturday, with Trent Alexander-Arnold taking his place against the Magpies.
Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain also remain sidelined as Klopp is forced to flex his squad’s muscles.
(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Arsenal will definitely be without Hector Bellerin (calf), Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin) and Rob Holding (knee) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, fellow defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal (both thigh) are doubtful.
In attack, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is out with a broken metatarsal, Emile Smith Rowe (groin) remains sidelined and Danny Welbeck (ankle) is out long-term.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Leno; Lichtsteiner, Sokratis, Koscielny, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi; Lacazette, Aubameyang, Iwobi.
Squawka Predictions
Inconsistency is starting to creep in at Arsenal while Liverpool look unstoppable. We expect a high-scoring affair with the home team coming out on top.
Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal.
Liverpool vs Arsenal betting tips from FansBet
Click here for Liverpool v Arsenal tips and enhanced odds from FansBet
With Manchester City surprisingly dropping nine points from their last four games and Jurgen Klopp’s team continuing their unbeaten run, Liverpool head into their final game of 2018 with a six-point lead at the top of the table. However, that lead could soon disappear if they don’t consolidate it against Arsenal and then Manchester City in their first game of the new year. Form Labs bring you their betting preview and tips and check out our comprehensive selection of enhanced odds for the clash and other big Premier League fixtures.
Read on HERE
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