The final match of the Premier League weekend happens to be the biggest match of the round as Arsenal host Liverpool in the Monday Night Football.
Both sides have made solid if unspectacular start to their seasons and now they will be looking to build things up to their better form as they aim to try and keep tabs with Manchester City who are blazing a trail at the top of the table at the minute.
Arsenal were being built up as title challengers before a ball was kicked this season but those expectations seemed to die down when they were comfortably seen off by West Ham in their opening match but they started to build some momentum at Crystal Palace last week and will be aiming to build on that here.
Liverpool are trying to convince people that they too are title challengers this season and two wins from two when they’ve not been playing well is meant to be the sign of a champion side. Whether they push for the title come May remains to be seen but they look a lot more solid at the back than in recent seasons and have plenty of attacking ability.
Arsene Wenger is set to stick with the side which won at Selhurst Park last weekend. He remains without Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck who are both out injured but Alexis Sanchez should be ready to play a more prominent role than he has done so far this season after his 75 minutes last week.
Brendan Rodgers is still without Daniel Sturridge and he could be without his captain Jordan Henderson too. Henderson limped off against Bournemouth last week and is doubtful for this match. Emre Can is the man most likely to replace him if he doesn’t make it.
Arsenal have enjoyed much the better of the meetings between these two in London. They have only lost one of the last 15 meetings so they’ll be confident going into this match. Matches between the two are often high scoring as well with the fixture last year ending 4-1 to Arsenal.
Liverpool are up against it in this match and we will certainly see if their defence really has improved this season. You could argue they’ve not been up against much so far but they’ll be tested here. It is the other end of the pitch where I’m sure Rodgers is looking for the most improvement though.
Ironically Arsenal are probably the opposite this season. They know they will score goals in most games against most opponents. If they are to challenge for the title they have to keep it tight at the back and this will be a good test for them in that regard.
Usually this match sees plenty of goals but I’ve a feeling this one might be a little tighter than usual. Liverpool haven’t fully clicked going forward yet and Arsenal haven’t been a huge amount better. I still think it will be a good game but with key links not quite up and running yet we may not see as many goals as we are used to when these two meet.
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