Football pundit Chris Sutton predicted a Liverpool victory and a Mohamed Salah goal against Arsenal in Saturday’s Premier League clash
Football pundit Chris Sutton predicted a Liverpool win along with a goal from Mohamed Salah against Arsenal on Saturday. The top-of-the-table Premier League clash takes place at Anfield on Saturday with heavy implications for the title race.
Arsenal are currently sitting at the top of the table with only a point advantage over Liverpool. Aston Villa are currently in third place, level on points with the Reds while Manchester City occupies the fourth spot.
The tight margins in the Premier League during the congested December fixture have left no room for errors. Liverpool are currently challenging for all four trophies after reaching the semi-final of Carabao Cup by beating West Ham 5-1. The Reds have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League, awaiting play-offs to determine their next opponent.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a selection headache against Arsenal after impressive performances from several players. Meanwhile, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch remain a doubt while Thiago and Andy Robertson are long-term absentees.
Curtis Jones produced a Man of the Match performance against West Ham, making strong claims for the start against Arsenal. Furthermore, Harvey Elliot, Joe Gomez, Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo produced strong performances as well.
Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah scored a goal after playing a late cameo against West Ham. It is safe to say that Salah will start alongside other rested players, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Alisson.
Expect Liverpool to start captain Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas, and Dominik Szoboslai against Arsenal as well. Leaving four spots for contention, depending on the tactics that Klopp will deploy and the fitness of the players.
Sutton predicted a Liverpool victory on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, with Salah on the scoresheet. He said:
“I’m going to be really bold here. I’m going to go for a Liverpool win, and Mo Salah to score.”
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is going through a goal drought but gave a strong performance on the left wing. We expect the Uruguayan to start ahead of off-form Luis Diaz at the left-wing position with Gakpo in the middle.
Many fans have shared concerns about the Colombian’s ability to beat defenders since returning from his last season’s knee injury. The 26-year-old has faced criticism for relying too much on dribbling and shooting instead of linking up with his teammates.
Klopp’s tactical approach will decide whether Trent plays as a number six or starts as an inverted right-back. The tactics will decide where Gomez starts against Arsenal after his promising performance against West Ham.
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We believe that the lack of overlapping fullback played a significant factor when the Reds struggled to break Manchester United. “However, unlike United’s “park the bus” approach, we expect Arsenal to adopt an adventurous style and leave more space to exploit. Therefore, our predicted lineup against Arsenal is Alisson, Trent, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Endo, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah Gakpo, and Nunez.
