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Liverpool
ArsenalLiverpool versus Arsenal at Anfield is not just a title six pointer, it is a genuine statement game for both clubs. The Reds are five wins deep into a run that has the Kop daring to whisper about a championship push, while Arsenal arrive carrying the baggage of one of the most embarrassing cup exits in recent memory. Whoever comes out on top here sends a message to the rest of the Premier League.
For Mikel Arteta’s men, this is about proving that the Fleetwood Town humiliation was a freakish blip and not a crack in the foundation. For Andoni Iraola, it is a chance to confirm that Liverpool’s revival is the real thing and not just a purple patch against softer opposition. There is genuine edge to this one, and it delivers in a slot that Sunday afternoons were made for.
The game takes place at Anfield, Liverpool’s famous home ground on Merseyside, in what is the headline fixture of the Premier League weekend. This is a top of the table clash in every sense, with both sides occupying the upper reaches of the division and genuine title ambitions on the line. The atmosphere inside Anfield for a game of this magnitude will be extraordinary.
Iraola has a few selection headaches to navigate, though the news is broadly positive given how deep into the fixture list we already are.
Iraola rotated heavily for the midweek cup tie and now brings his big guns back. Wirtz returns to the attack alongside Alexander Isak, who has been in devastating form, and Bradley Barcola, who has contributed five goal involvements in his last four outings. The back line reshuffles accordingly as Iraola reverts to his strongest available eleven.
Liverpool: Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak. Arsenal are without Saka and Dowman out wide, so Arteta turns to Eze and potentially Madueke if fit, with Gyokeres spearheading the attack and Rice anchoring the midfield. Arsenal: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimaraes; Madueke, Odegaard, Eze; Gyokeres.
Liverpool are flying. Five wins on the bounce across all competitions tells its own story, but what is more impressive is the manner in which some of those results have arrived. Their 2-0 win over Brighton last weekend saw them work with just 36% of the ball, one of the lowest possession figures recorded in a home Premier League victory. That kind of defensive resilience combined with clinical finishing is the hallmark of a side that knows how to win ugly when needed. Iraola has only lost twice in 27 Premier League games during 2026, which is a remarkable record for a manager still in his first full season at the club.
Arsenal’s Premier League form is arguably even more impressive when you strip out the cup nightmare. Seven wins from eight top flight games in this campaign, including three on the spin heading into this fixture, with a 2-0 defeat of Everton the most recent. They sit level on points with Manchester City at the summit, separated only by goal difference. The Fleetwood result is obviously a talking point, but Arteta will be desperate to channel the fury it generated into a performance at Anfield.
The contrast in momentum is fascinating. Liverpool are building steadily, growing into their season. Arsenal are the established force with a point to prove after an embarrassing week. Both sets of supporters will be expecting a reaction, just for very different reasons.
Arsenal have lost just once in their last eight Premier League meetings with Liverpool, which is a solid enough record across recent seasons. However, Anfield has been a different story altogether. The Gunners have not won a top flight game at this ground since 2012, when goals from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla gave them the three points. That is 14 league games without a victory away to Liverpool, and Arteta’s side are now on the brink of making that an unwanted record.
Earlier this year, Arsenal did beat an Iraola managed side at their place, with the Spaniard suffering one of his two Premier League defeats of 2026 against the Gunners while he was in charge of Bournemouth. That detail will not have escaped anyone in the Arsenal camp, and it perhaps gives them a psychological edge when it comes to reading how Iraola sets his teams up.
This is a game that screams cagey. Arsenal are the best defensive team in the league. Liverpool have quality in the final third but face a back line that rarely gives goals away cheaply. My angle here is to find value in markets that reflect a tight, competitive contest rather than chasing a goal fest.
A fixture of this intensity between two sides with genuine title ambitions always carries a booking or two, and with Arsenal fresh from a combustible week and motivated to make a point, expect both sets of midfielders to get stuck in early. Back over three and a half cards for this one.
Arsenal are the meanest defence in the Premier League. Liverpool are clinical but are still finding their rhythm at home. Under 2.5 goals looks the sensible call here. Both managers will be acutely aware of the stakes and neither will want to lose, which tends to produce a more conservative approach from the off.
Alexander Isak has scored in each of his last six Premier League starts and is in the kind of form where backing him to open the scoring is almost obligatory. He is quick, composed and makes the right runs. At Anfield, with service from Wirtz and Barcola, he will get his opportunities.
Arsenal tend to keep things compact and deny Liverpool the kind of wide overloads that generate corner counts. Liverpool will have more of the ball than in some recent games against a side that is here to win rather than park, but the total corners market should land somewhere in the middle ground. Back over eight and a half corners as both sides press forward during an open early period.
Lean towards no here. Arsenal are too well organised at the back to be guaranteed a goal against a Liverpool side defending from a solid base, and the Gunners are missing real width due to injuries and suspension. Both teams to score feels generous given the defensive quality on show.
A 1-1 draw feels right. Liverpool nick a goal through Isak, Arsenal respond through Gyokeres or Odegaard, and neither side manages to find a winner in a game where the margins are too tight and the stakes too high for either gaffer to throw caution to the wind.
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| First Goalscorer | Alexander Isak |
| Both Teams To Score | Yes |
| Total Cards | Over 3.5 |
Isak’s red hot form makes him the most logical anytime scorer in this fixture, and if Liverpool and Arsenal both get on the scoresheet in a feisty affair, the bookings should follow in a game where every tackle carries that extra bit of needle.
Liverpool will be the better side for periods of this game, particularly when Isak and Wirtz combine in tight spaces. But Arsenal are Premier League champions for a reason, and Arteta will have his side drilled to within an inch of their lives after the Fleetwood humiliation. The Gunners will be desperate not to hand their title rivals a six pointer.
I see this finishing 1-1. Liverpool break through once but cannot find the winner against a defence that simply does not crack easily, and Arsenal take a hard earned point back to North London. Both managers will frame it differently in their post match press conferences, but in truth, a draw feels like the fair result in a game where neither side has quite enough to blow the other away.
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