Liverpool vs Arsenal Tips: Salah to find the net at Anfield

A hectic day of Premier League action is rounded off on Saturday evening, as Arsenal travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a fixture they haven’t enjoyed in recent seasons.

The home side will be dismayed to be starting the day in 4th following defeat to West Ham before the international break, whilst it’s the opposite sentiment for the visitors who start the day in 5th on the back of an eight-game unbeaten streak.

It’s not all good news for The Gunners though, who haven’t won on the red half of Merseyside since 2012, suffering seven losses in their eight games since that date.

Truthfully, Liverpool have been able to have their way with them like no team has before. The Reds have scored an astronomic 27 goals in those eight games, bagging at least twice in each encounter.

Their dominance of this tie, especially in Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Anfield, has rarely been broken by any of Arsenal’s trio of managers over the last few years - though there has been a little respite for Mikel Arteta’s side in the last 18 months.

Having not won a single game against the Reds since 2015 (when Brendan Rodgers was at the helm), Arteta’s side have won three of the five ties the two have contested since July 2020.

A pair of penalty shoot-out victories in the Community Shield and EFL Cup followed a 2-0 Emirates win during ‘Project Restart’, though Liverpool had already won the league by that point.

It means they’ll be confident of being able to match their opponents toe-to-toe, especially given their current form.

The Gunners are unbeaten since August, winning nine of 11 games in all competitions, and now find themselves just three points behind Manchester City - who sit 2nd in the Premier League table.

It’s a major turnaround after the way in which they started the season, picking up 0 points from their first three fixtures amidst calls for Arteta to be given his marching orders.

The Gunners stuck with him and now their decision is paying dividends, though this will be a serious test of his credentials.

Liverpool will be dismayed to find themselves down in 4th considering that loss at West Ham was their first in the league since a March defeat at the hands of Fulham.

It’s a testament to how competitive the Premier League is this season that this is the predicament they’re in.

One of their big issues has been a lack of intensity when pressing in midfield, a decrease than unsurprisingly coincided with the departure of (and subsequent failure to replace) Georginio Wijnaldum.

That, combined with an unprecedented plethora of injuries, has made the Reds’ middle easy to play through - as Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek demonstrated so easily last time out.

They’ll be glad to potentially welcome Thiago Alcantara back from the start, whose on-the-ball ability and tenacity in the tackle they’ve missed in his absence.

They’re still without midfielders Harvey Elliot, James Milner, Naby Keita and Curtis Jones though, whilst Roberto Firmino and Joe Gómez miss out with their respective injuries.

There is good news however, as Sadio Mané and Fabinho are both available to start while Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson face late fitness tests to be in with a chance to be involved.

For the visitors; Granit Xhaka continues his long stay on the sidelines whilst Sead Kolasinac picked up an injury during the international break and will miss out. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Thomas Partey face a race to be fit.

One thing this game has had in abundance in its recent history is goals.

As mentioned above, in the last eight Premier League meetings between these two at Anfield the home side have scored twice on every single occasion. They’ve also scored two or more goals in each of their last 14 games in all competitions and, while Arsenal’s defence has been decent of late, they conceded seven goals across two games against elite sides Manchester City and Chelsea - a bracket I’d say Liverpool fall into.

Of those aforementioned eight games head-to-head the Gunners have only failed to score themselves on one occasion, and have only failed to find the net once in their 11-game unbeaten run.

With Andy Robertson facing a late fitness test, there’s the potential that Jurgen Klopp opts for the capable Tsimikas to deputise to ensure the Scotsman is ready for their Champions League tie with Porto in midweek.

If that’s the case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Hellenes pick up a booking. He’s only started three Premier League games for the Reds this year but has committed 13 fouls and picked up a card in his last start against Crystal Palace.

Not to mention he’ll likely be up against Bukayo Saka, who gave Danny Rose a torrid time just before the international break.

I’ll also be combining my play on Tsimikas with Mohamed Salah to score and register an assist. 

The Egyptian has been in incredible scoring form this season and, as good as he’s been in front of goal, it hasn’t stopped him from creating opportunities for his teammates

He’s registered an assist in five consecutive Premier League games, as well as scoring 10 goals in just 11 league starts this season. He’s done both in one game four times already this year, and has seen this happen in two of his last four home starts against the Gunners.