While it is of course still early in the season, Liverpool’s start to the Arne Slot era has been going well so far. With seven wins out of a possible eight, the Reds have the chance to leapfrog back into the top spot on Sunday, following Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Southampton.
Slot has confirmed some injury setbacks for his side. Diogo Jota is set to miss this weekend’s clash, with Alisson also still sidelined, while Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and Conor Bradley are also out of contention. However, Arsenal are also struggling with some absences ahead of this weekend’s blockbuster meeting and Chris Sutton believes it’s Mikel Arteta with the ‘bigger problems’ on his hands.
Predicting Sunday’s score for his latest BBC Sport column, the football expert said: “It is Arsenal’s absentees that concern me — in defence and attack. It's not just at centre-half where they have problems. Who is going to handle Mohamed Salah if Jurrien Timber isn’t fit?”
Along with their injury concerns, Arsenal will also be without William Saliba, who will serve his one-match ban against Liverpool after being sent off against Bournemouth last time out. Sutton also believes that Riccardo Calafiori ‘will not be fit for Sunday’ after coming off against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Liverpool predicted XI for Arsenal - Arne Slot to make 2 changes
“There are rumours that Jurrien Timber could be fit to play at left-back, but if not and they go with Oleksandr Zinchenko against Mohamed Salah, you would fancy Salah to get the better of him,” he continued. “Liverpool can exploit all of this and then you think about how Arsenal are missing players in an attacking sense too.
“There’s a lot of talk about whether Bukayo Saka might be fit after missing the past two matches, but Martin Odegaard is still out. Without them, Arsenal were unconvincing in front of goal against Shakhtar. Gabriel Jesus does so many good things for the team, but you would never back him to finish.
“If Saliba was playing, I wouldn’t be predicting a Liverpool win, but if Calafiori and Timber are not fit I don’t feel Arsenal have adequate cover. This would be a huge win for Liverpool, and everyone is saying that, with the run of tough games they have coming up, we will find out more about them soon.”
If the Reds can pick up a win on the road this Sunday, they will put seven points between them and Arsenal, while Man City will boast a six-point lead over the Gunners following their latest victory.
0 Comments