Preview: Liverpool welcome Arsenal to the fortress of Anfield

They are the only Premier League teams to have won their first 2 games. Now, Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield, where they crushed the Gunners last year.

It’s a tough ask for Arsenal. It really is. On the back of 2 straight wins over Newcastle and Burnley to start the Premier League season, Arsenal will travel to Anfield to take on the defending European Champions, Liverpool. Anfield is not a place that has been kind to the Gunners in recent years, but then again, who has really succeeded there in recent memory?

This fixture, while not at the historically relevant level of clashes like Liverpool vs Manchester United or Arsenal vs Spurs, has still been a source of some intense, high-scoring clashes throughout Premier League history. In fact, these 2 sides have only played out 4 scoreless draws in league history, the last of which came in 2015. Other than that, these 2 sides tend to score plenty of goals when they come face-to-face.

"“For us we don’t want to play against Liverpool ever. We’d prefer not to play against them…That is really our challenge, a really good test. For the supporters, for all of us, going there with six points is good.” – Unai Emery"

One of their most famous matches came on the opening matchweek of the 2016-17 season, when Sadio Mane inspired a 4-3 victory for the Reds. Other than that, a 4-4 draw in 2009 where Andrei Arshavin scored all 4 Gunners goals comes to mind, as does the holiday clash between these 2 in 2017, where Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, with the match ultimately finishing 3-3.

The gap in quality between these 2 sides has increased over the last year and a half, no doubt about that, as Liverpool have turned into title contenders, while Arsenal are in a position that Liverpool were in 3 or 4 years ago. Last season, the Reds ripped apart the Gunners at Anfield, winning 5-1 thanks to a Roberto Firmino hat-trick.

https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1164561182373625856

While Liverpool don’t normally drop points at home, it’s difficult to rule Arsenal out of this one. The Gunners improved in the summer transfer window, and the always-lethal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in electric form to start the new season. This fixture is likely to be one of high-intensity, and you can expect some goals as well, if previous clashes are anything to go by.

Naby Keita and Alisson Becker are reportedly set to miss this match through injury for Liverpool, while Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka’s fitness is still in doubt for the Gunners. Apart from that, Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, and Hector Bellerin continue to be sidelined by injury, and Nicolas Pepe could be set for his first start for the club. It could be a chance for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to face some of his old teammates as well.

The match will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK, NBC in the USA, and DAZN in Canada. Kickoff goes this Saturday at 5:30pm local time.