Liverpool vs Arsenal Preview, Predicted line up and score by KJ
Last season, Arsenal were in a strong position when going into this fixture but got completely blown away in the first 20 minutes. I don’t expect a similar start as Liverpool lack Suarez and Sturridge who were at the heart of all the problems caused last season. Even then, I still expect this to be a very tough game for us.
Both teams haven’t really performed this season and you can attribute that down to injuries, transfers and poor tactics. This has allowed United a firm position in the top 4 and this makes the game at Anfield fairly important for who goes on and claims the remaining top 4 place.
Arsenal will need to start strongly if we are to win this. We need to be cautious but we can also look to exploit Liverpool’s fragile defence with Alexis and Co. I want to see intelligent pressing of the likes of Henderson and Gerrard on the ball as they have crumbled in that aspect against decent teams.
Predicted line up:
Szczesny
Debuchy – Chambers – Mertesacker – Gibbs
Flamini – Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alexis – Cazorla – Welbeck
Giroud
We might actually field a defence that has the players in the correct position for once. It’s not the best with Koscielny still to come back but it’s a lot better than playing fullbacks in the centre back position.
Our central midfield scares me the most. We have our second choice DM in there and our third choice box-to-box player. They lack discipline and intelligence I feel and could lose us the match if they aren’t careful.
Alexis could really punish Liverpool’s defence with his relentless pressing. Would be great if he managed to score considering how he turned them down for us in the summer.
This is obviously going to be a difficult game, far more difficult than the one we saw at Old Trafford last week. But I believe we might inch it. 2 – 1 to the Gunners.
Kash