11 hours ago
3
Who: Liverpool vs Arsenal
What: English Premier League
Where: Anfield successful Liverpool, United Kingdom
When: Sunday, August 31, astatine 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up connected Al Jazeera Sport from 1:30pm (12:30 GMT) successful beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.
Liverpool and Arsenal volition some effort to stay cleanable successful the Premier League connected Sunday erstwhile they conscionable successful Merseyside, England.
Champions Liverpool finished 10 points wide of Arsenal past season, with the Gunners claiming 2nd spot for a 3rd consecutive season.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look a titanic aboriginal play rubric clash.
What person Liverpool’s Premier League results been truthful far?
Liverpool person had the acold much adventurous way to their flawless record, doubly giving backmost precocious leads lone to people match-winning goals adjacent later.
Last Monday, it was Mohamed Salah mounting up 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha heavy successful second-half stoppage clip to seal a 3-2 triumph astatine Newcastle United.
Their opening crippled resulted successful a 4-2 location triumph against Bournemouth, but the Reds had to flooded a precocious fightback by the visitors.
Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch celebrates scoring their archetypal extremity astatine Newcastle [Lee Smith/Reuters]Who person Arsenal beaten successful the Premier League truthful acold this season?
Arsenal person yet to concede successful the caller run and past Saturday romped to a 5-0 location triumph implicit Leeds United that was realistically decided erstwhile Bukayo Saka scored the Gunners’ 2nd extremity successful first-half stoppage time.
The northbound Londoners opened the caller play with a 1-0 triumph astatine Manchester United, though the extremity came aft a mistake by the location keeper successful an underwhelming show by the Gunners.
Do Liverpool inactive request Alexander Isak?
The Reds person had 1 bid for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak turned down, and manager Arne Slot has hinted a 2nd connection could beryllium connected the cards.
The gathering betwixt the 2 clubs astatine St James’ Park was a contentious situation fuelled by the transportation saga surrounding Liverpool’s pursuit of Isak.
But the bully quality for Slot is that truthful far, his broadside appears little reliant connected the seasoned Salah for their attacking production, acknowledgment successful nary tiny portion to their summertime transportation business.
In particular, erstwhile Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Hugo Ekitike is disconnected to a speedy commencement astatine Anfield with 2 goals and an assist, including Liverpool’s 2nd tally astatine Newcastle.
“I deliberation helium has already made a large interaction successful the attacking portion of our game,” Slot said Friday. “Not lone scoring goals but besides being portion of build-up situations wherever helium was idiosyncratic that started the onslaught oregon was portion of america starting an attack. I’m talking astir a quality a spot much than past season, though erstwhile [Luis Diaz] played determination helium was besides a batch of times portion of our build-up.”
How are Arsenal shaping up for different Premier League rubric bid?
Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard are already dealing with injuries, with the erstwhile 2 expected to miss astatine slightest respective weeks.
That volition enactment the absorption connected caller signings similar Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze, who were acquired successful portion to assistance Arsenal combat precisely these kinds of situations.
Gyokeres scored his archetypal 2 Premier League goals – including 1 from the punishment spot – against Leeds. Eze has yet to debut for the Gunners aft completing his transportation from Crystal Palace for a reported interest conscionable northbound of $80m this week.
“It’s the commencement of the play and we mislaid 3 of our main players, but that’s the reality,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “A precise unfortunate situation, 3 precise antithetic situations. But that’s wherefore we support insisting, similar everybody else, you request a large squad to beryllium capable to header and prolong the level.”
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring their 5th extremity against Leeds United [Andrew Couldridge/Reuters]What happened past play betwixt Liverpool and Arsenal astatine Anfield?
The Gunners person drawn their past 3 trips to Anfield, but mislaid the past six anterior to that.
It volition surely beryllium each hands to the pump erstwhile again for Arsenal, having not won astatine Anfield successful the Premier League since 2012.
“The favourite is ever the 1 that won successful the erstwhile year. Someone has to travel and instrumentality that crown distant from them, and that’s what we, the rest, are going to effort to do,” Arteta said of Liverpool’s rubric win.
“Very important game. You privation to proceed gathering the momentum we are successful close now. Going to those grounds, against this benignant of opposition, is what you want. Coming from those large games winning successful a truly convincing mode is the objective.”
One subordinate who could assistance successful that respect is Eze.
“When you are adjacent to him, you are comfortable. He’s got a large smile. He picks teams apart,” Arteta said.
“He asks you the close questions and past conscionable fto him travel with the shot and the quality helium has to prime passes, to thrust past radical effortlessly and conscionable to recognize the timing of things, it’s precise impressive.”
Head-to-head
This is the 245th gathering betwixt the clubs.
Liverpool person won 94 of the meetings, with Arsenal claiming triumph successful 81 of the encounters.
Liverpool squad news
Liverpool person nary caller wounded concerns for the match.
Conor Bradley substitute quality against Newcastle was his archetypal of the season, portion Alexis Mac Allister is disposable aft missing the travel to St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon was sent disconnected for a tackle connected Virgil van Dijk successful that match, but the Reds skipper has been passed wide to play against Arsenal.
Arsenal squad news
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz volition beryllium sidelined for galore weeks aft picking up injuries, portion skipper Martin Odegaard is simply a uncertainty for the Premier League clash, manager Mikel Arteta said connected Friday.
Saka limped disconnected during Arsenal’s 5-0 location triumph implicit Leeds United, and Arteta said helium injured his hamstring. However, helium volition not necessitate surgery, which kept him retired for months past season.
“Bukayo is doing amended but helium is retired for a fewer weeks, unfortunately. No surgery, it’s not arsenic atrocious arsenic the erstwhile one,” Arteta told reporters.
“Obviously, it’s precise unfortunate to prime it up, but it’s connected the different broadside … Let’s spot however helium evolves successful the adjacent fewer days and weeks, repetition the scan and spot wherever he’s at.”
Havertz injured his genu successful their play opener astatine Manchester United and Arsenal confirmed the German underwent a insignificant surgical procedure.
“I deliberation it volition beryllium weeks, but I don’t cognize however galore months. Very unfortunate, precise bittersweet for him,” Arteta said of Havertz, who besides underwent country connected a hamstring wounded earlier this year.
“He did tremendously good to retrieve from the erstwhile one; he’d ne'er had an wounded before, and abruptly this happens.
“But this is our profession… we request to unrecorded with that. We mislaid different large subordinate for many, galore weeks, but it [surgery] was the close happening to do.”
Odegaard was besides substituted aboriginal successful the triumph implicit Leeds with a enarthrosis problem, and Arteta said helium is unsure if his skipper volition play a part.
“We don’t cognize yet. He hasn’t trained yet, and if helium does, it volition beryllium tomorrow,” helium said.
New enlistee Christian Norgaard and Ben White are besides being monitored.
Liverpool predicted starting lineup
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
Arsenal predicted starting lineup
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli
English (US) ·