Liverpool v Arsenal: Expect Reds forward line to exploit weaknesses

ADAM Goodwin (@agjournalism) shares his betting views on Super Sunday's contest between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Liverpool v Arsenal | Sunday 16:00 | Sky Sports

After two sporting heavyweights clash on Sunday morning in Las Vegas, two more will go head to head on Sunday afternoon at Anfield.

Liverpool displayed a familiarly horrific defensive performance on the first game of the season against Watford and just managed to scrape past Crystal Palace at home last weekend.

But a convincing 4-2 win against Hoffenheim in the Champions League on Wednesday was an improvement on their first couple of Premier League games – and Klopp will be hoping for a similar display this Sunday.

Similarly to Liverpool, Arsenal have started the campaign far from convincingly. The Gunners came back from 3-2 down to win 4-3 at home to Leicester on the opening night thanks to a late goal from Olivier Giroud.

And a 1-0 loss at the Bet 365 Stadium versus Stoke last Saturday won’t fill them with confidence going into this weekend’s game.

Arsene Wenger has said that in-demand striker Alexis Sanchez will be available against Liverpool, which will provide some positivity for Gunners fans.

Liverpool

The Philippe Coutinho saga continues to drag on as the midfielder continues to seek a move to Barcelona. Jurgen Klopp has been without the Brazilian since he handed in a transfer request, but this doesn’t seem to be affecting the Reds.

It’s allowed wingers Sadio Mane and Mo Salah get a lot more of the ball in wide positions, and has given Emre Can the license to bomb forward from deep.

Another thing on Liverpool’s side heading into this game is their superb record against the Top 6 last season. They ended the campaign undefeated against their fellow sides in the Top 6, with a goal difference of +7.

They relished playing against the Premier League’s strongest sides, as they tended to soak up a lot of pressure and then hit teams on the counter attack with their pace in wide areas.

Arsenal

The big news for Arsenal this weekend is that Alexis Sanchez will be available for the Gunners. Fans will have been relishing to watch the Chilean partner new signing Alexandre Lacazette in attack and I can see them both starting on Sunday.

Lacazette has started his Arsenal career in fine fashion, bagging a goal on his debut and was very unfortunate to have a goal chalked off for offside last weekend. The potential partnership of Sanchez and Lacazette will be a scary thought for Jurgen Klopp and his side.

They may be looking dangerous offensively, but defensively there are still huge question marks. Shkodran Mustafi is reportedly close to sealing a move to Inter Milan and is likely to be unavailable.

Vice-captain Laurent Koscielny could be set to make his first start of the season, but he won’t be fully fit. This leaves left-backs Sead Kolasanic and Nacho Monreal to plug the defensive holes, along with youngster Rob Holding.

It, by no means, is a back-three capable of achieving a Top 4 finish and I think it could struggle against Liverpool’s lightning attack.

The betting angle

I can only see goals in this one. Both teams look like they can score for fun, but severely struggle when under pressure at the back.

This fixture has seen 41 goals in the last 10 meetings and I can see more of the same on Sunday. Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score is 3/4 with Coral and I really fancy that.

Liverpool have looked absolutely menacing going forward this season. The trio of Firmino, Salah & Mane are unstoppable and, even with Koscielny back in the side, I can see them causing havoc.

The Reds have scored three or more in their last three games against Arsenal and I think that’ll come to fruition again this weekend. Back Liverpool to score 3+ goals with Betfair at 13/5.