All eyes will be on Anfield when Liverpool and Arsenal take on each other in the Premier League derby this weekend. The Reds aim to build on back-to-back wins over the likes of Norwich City and Southampton and the title-chasing team are likely to stick to their attacking style of play. Sadio Mane opened his goal-scoring account in the 2-1 win at Southampton, meaning that the opposition defenders should have him at bay.
Arsenal, on the other hand, made a fine start to the season, with the team recording back-to-back wins over the likes of Newcastle United and Burnley. However, seeing that Liverpool do not suit the Gunners, we predict that Unai Emery’s troops are going to return home empty-handed. A man to watch in the away team will be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has already netted two goals in the new Premier League campaign.
Liverpool have already faced two of the ‘big six’ this season in the Community Shield (losing on penalties to Man City) and the UEFA Super Cup (beating Chelsea on penalties), but their fixture against Arsenal next week will be their first heavyweight encounter in the league.
The Reds won 5-1 in the corresponding fixture last season, but the Gunners will have more firepower this time around with the additions of Nicolas Pepe and Dani Ceballos.
Liverpool have not been beaten in the league at home for 40 games, and while you would expect Unai Emery’s side to put in a better performance than last season, they still have some major weaknesses. Like many sides Arsenal need time for new signings to get used to their new surroundings but they did get off to a winning start after beating Newcastle in their first League fixture 1-0 at St James Park as Steve Bruce took charge of the Magpies for the first time following Rafa Benitez’s departure to coach in China.
Keeping a clean sheet and winning away from home were two things Arsenal had big trouble doing last season so Emery must be happy with their first game this season beating Newcastle compared to last year where they lost to Man City and Chelsea to start their League campaign.
Whether David Luiz will actually be able to shore up the London club’s defence, and prevent Liverpool’s front three from firing, it does seem questionable.
The Reds will be without first choice goalkeeper Alisson, though, so it will be interesting to see whether his understudy Adrian will be up to the task. He may have played well in the Super Cup but the Spaniard is a significant downgrade on the club’s number one but will surely be full of confidence after helping his new side to lift another trophy.
Other classic battles for week three matches includes:
Wolves vs Man City
Wolves have a monumental battle in hands if they want to get something out of the game. Like Huddersfield saw last week, sitting back and defending will only invite relentless pressure from Manchester City.
Good news for them is their winger Matt Doherty is expected to be fit for this clash as also the club record signing Adam Traore who could be making his first start after impressing last weekend as a substitute.
On the other hand for Manchester City, this looks like another formality. A Huddersfield match repeat could very well be on the cards.
Norwich vs Chelsea
Frank Lampard takes his Chelsea side to East Anglia to face Norwich City knowing that nothing but a victory will do after three winless games since taking over at Stamford Bridge.
The 41-year-old saw his side soundly beaten 4-0 by Manchester United in their Premier League opener before they were held to a 1-1 draw against Leicester, with a penalty shootout loss to Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup sandwiched between.
The Blues come up against a Norwich side brimming with confidence after Teemu Pukki’s hat-trick inspired a 3-1 triumph over Newcastle United, but this will be a much stiffer test for the newly-promoted side.
Man Utd vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United will be looking to return to winning ways against Crystal Palace after being held to a 1-1 draw at Molineux by Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.
The Red Devils opened their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 thumping of Chelsea as they handed Frank Lampard a rude introduction to life as a Premier League manager.
Against Wolves, Anthony Martial’s 50th United goal looked set to hand Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a second win from as many games, but an incredible Ruben Neves strike and a missed Paul Pogbapenalty saw the match end level.
Bournemouth vs Man City
After failing to turn their dominance into a victory against Tottenham, Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they take on Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium on Matchday 3.
The Citizens were more than unfortunate not to beat Spurs at the weekend as they had no fewer than 30 goal attempts in the 2-2 draw with Mauro Pochettino’s troops.
Pep Guardiola’s troops are likely to stick to their attacking style of play against Bournemouth, but Sunday’s football game will be anything but a walk in the park for the reigning champions.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Liverpool won 14 direct matches. Arsenal won 19matches. 16 matches ended in a draw. On average in direct matches both teams scored a 3.37 goals per Match.
Liverpool in actual season average scored 2.56 goals per match. In 3 (100.00%) matches played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 3 (100.00%) matches in season 2019 played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Arsenal average scored 2.27 goals per match in season 2019. In 5 (83.33%) matches played away was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 4 (66.67%) matches played away team was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
