Arsenal hosts Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on Friday in a Premier League match whose winner will occupy the fourth spot in the league standings. Arsenal is currently fifth in the league table after the conclusion of the first leg of Premier League action. A win could see the hosts move into Champions League positions and exert pressure on the third-placed, Chelsea who will be playing their game a day later. However, a defeat at the hands of Liverpool could see the North Londoners sink to position seven if Tottenham Hotspurs and Burnley win their respective fixtures.
Liverpool travels to the capital city fresh from the 4-0 thumping that they handed Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to claim all the vital three points. A win in London is not enough for the Reds to quit position four but will temporarily put them behind Chelsea by just a single point. A defeat could see Liverpool drop up to number seven in the league standings should Tottenham Hotspurs and Burnley win comprehensively.
Match Facts
Liverpool is undefeated against Arsenal in the last five Premier League meetings. In fact, the Reds have won all their last three league contests featuring the two English giants.The last league encounter saw the Merseyside club inflict a painful 4-0 defeat to the helpless Gunners at Anfield in August.
Arsenal has been impressive at home in Premier League winning thirteen out of the last fourteen league matches they have played at Emirates Stadium. The only game that the Gunners have lost in their backyard this season is the 3-1 home defeat to the second-placed, Manchester United earlier in the month.
Arsenal has displayed good defense that has seen the Gunners keep six clean sheets in the last eight Premier League matches they have played in front of the home fans.
The last time that the Noth Londoners failed to keep a home clean sheet was in the 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Red Devils.
The last four league meetings between the two sides have realized multiple goals with each game, claiming at least a total of four goals. Liverpool has scored at least three league goals in each of the past four Premier League contests against Arsenal.
Nine out of ten Premier League games Liverpool has played away from home have witnessed high scoring with each game realizing at least a total of three goals. The Liverpool's Premier League away match that failed to realize a total of more than two goals was the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United at the beginning of October.
The Gunner's impressive home run has seen Wenger's men win both at half-time and full-time in six out of their last eight Premier League fixtures at Emirates Stadium. Interestingly, Liverpool has been gaining both at half-time and full-time in the previous four Premier League matches they have played on the road.
Team News
The match will come too soon for Santi Carzola, Aaron Ramsey, and Oliver Giroud who are all nursing various forms of injuries.
Santi Carzola has been a long-term absentee with an injury while Ramsey who has not featured since the 1-1 draw at Southampton will watch the game from the stands. Oliver Giroud picked up a hamstring injury against West Ham United on Tuesday in a League Cup match.
Shkodran Mustafi is doubtful for the test but could return to the first-team assignment after being preserved in the midweek League Cup fixture. Francis Coquelin who picked up a knock in the 1-0 victory over the Hammers on Tuesday is doubtful and could miss the welcoming of the Reds.
Adam Bogdan, Nathaniel Clyne, and Alberto Moreno are automatic absentees for the contest due to different kinds of injuries that are sidelining them from the fixture.
Joel Matip returned to training on Tuesday and could play some part in the match.
Alex Ox-Laid Chamberlain will be facing off with his former employer for the first time since exiting Arsenal earlier in the season.The English midfielder left Arsenal in August after suffering the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool only to receive a humiliating 5-0 loss to Manchester City in Liverpool's shirt ten days later. James Milner and Emre Can are both available and will compete for a starting slot but both are likely to stay on the bench for the Friday contest.
Men to Watch
Mesut Ozil
The German midfielder was not part of the proceedings in the 1-0 success over West Ham United on Tuesday and will return on Friday to help his side pick the maximum points.
Ozil's half-volley was enough to help Arsenal beat Newcastle United 1-0 and secure all the three crucial points. Arsene Wenger will expect the former Real Madrid player who has scored three league goals and assisted on five occasions to gel the defense and the attacking force
Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian star is lonely at the peak of top scorers table with fourteen goals after the conclusion of the first-leg of Premier League activities. He was on target when Liverpool hammered the Gunners 4-0 scoring a single goal in the match. Salah who had a period at the London club-Chelsea was on the scoresheet when the Blues simmered Arsenal with a 6-0 thumping in March 2014.
Match Predictions
Arsene Wenger, last week, made everyone laugh when he sensationally insisted that Arsenal was still in the title race despite trailing the league leaders, Manchester City by a massive 19 points.
The match could see the end of the Gunner's Premier League ambition with Liverpool set to continue with their dominance.
Liverpool has a considerable prospect of winning the game given that Jurgen Klopp's men were not involved in the midweek activities something that makes the Reds fresh for the contest. Besides, Liverpool has enjoyed a better head-to-head record against Arsenal in the recent past. The game is likely to witness high-scoring where Coutinho, Salah, Firminho, Ozil, and Sanchez likely to register their names on the score sheet.
Full-time prediction: Arsenal 2-4 Liverpool
