Arsenal v Liverpool Tips: Reds to come out on top with seven year stat set to continue

It may be less than two weeks since the Champions League final but the new season is already on the horizon with Arsenal taking on Liverpool at Wembley this Saturday. Due to the coronavirus there has been less than a month between The Gunners lifting the FA Cup and Saturday’s Community Shield game, with Liverpool having slightly less longer to prepare after their season concluded on July 26.

It’s always a tricky one when predicting who will start in this sort of match after pre-season but on the injury front there are some absentees for Arsenal. Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari and Shkodran Mustafi will all miss the game due to injury however Bernd Leno is expected to return to the side and get the nod ahead of Martinez. 

Jordan Henderson is back in training after a knock, although Trent Alexander-Arnold did not travel to Austria for their recent pre-season games and is expected to miss this one out. Arsenal have only lost a Community Shield once in 90 minutes in the nine times they have contested the trophy in the Premier League era. Bet365 make them the 2/1 outsiders to lift it again come Saturday tea time, whilst Klopp’s side can be backed at 4/11 to come out the winners which would be their first success in the competition since 2006.

Liverpool to win & under 3.5 goals - 2pts @ 2/1 Betfair Sportsbook

Salah & Aubameyang 2+ shots on target - 0.5pts @ 13/2 Betfair Sportsbook

Mane 2+ shots on target, Xhaka & Gomez to be carded - 0.25pts @ 40/1 PaddyPower

For my first selection of the 20/21 season I’m going for Liverpool to win and under 3.5 goals in the match at the boosted price of 2/1. There’s no denying that the Community Shield in recent years has not produced the most exciting games, in fact the last seven of those have all seen under 3.5 goals and that’s something I want onside here. 

Arsenal were much improved under Mikel Arteta at the end of the last campaign, helping themselves to yet another FA Cup at the expense of Chelsea and I do think they will finish much higher in the table this time round. In Saturday’s game however, they come up against a different beast in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side. The Reds were phenomenal, winning 26 of their first 27 league games in 19/20 and I expect them to start fast this time out. Their front-three is enough to give any defence in the world nightmares and in my opinion the 2/1 here looks a very reasonable price from Betfair here, with others such as Skybet having this one at 6/4.

Next up, I’ve taken a little bit of 13/2 for both Mohammed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to have two or more shots on target. Salah had the highest amount of shots on target of any player in the Premier League last season, on average taking 1.7 per game. He always wants to get a shot away and I’m adding him into this double.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended last season in scintillating form scoring six goals in his last four games of the season including a brace in the cup final. He averaged 1.2 shots on target per game in the league, the most of any player at The Emirates. Another plus is that both these players are the penalty takers for their team which could also be a factor here. Coral have this double at 9/2 with betfair going 13/2 although a boosted 7/1 is currently available with Skybet.

I always like to put up something at a bit of a price for the optimists out there and at 40/1 I’ve picked out Sadio Mane to have two or more shots on target with both Joe Gomez and Granit Xhaka to be carded, available with Paddy Power and Betfair.

Sadio Mane enjoyed another superb season under Jurgen Klopp, helping himself to 18 Premier League goals. The postponement of the African Cup of Nations - which was meant to take place in January - could be a huge benefit for Liverpool, Mane, and Salah this season with the hectic winter schedule ahead. Mane averaged bang on one shot per game in the league last season and I’m fancying him to step up and notch two on target against Arsenal on Saturday.

Moving onto the cards and for Liverpool the first player I want onside when it comes to bookings is Joe Gomez. He’s been known to ‘think he’s the big man’ at times and I believe he possesses that bit of nastiness that is sometimes required as a Premier League defender. He was booked an impressive four times in seven matches to finish last season and I’m backing him to pick up another here.

For Arsenal I’m sticking with the trusty old yellow card merchant that is Swiss international Granit Xhaka. Only Jefferson Lerma and Luke Milivojevic picked up more cautions in the league last season than Xhaka with ten. He also registered the most fouls out of any member of the Arsenal squad in 2019/20 and he’s the one here to round off this 40/1 Same Game Multi. 

Having a shop around I can see Coral have this priced at 28/1 so I’d be recommending taking the 40/1 available from either Paddy Power or Betfair. The game can be seen live on BT Sport at 16:30 and as always please remember to gamble responsibly.