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| Image via: mirror.co.uk |
I'm back! Don't pretend not to be well excited...
You may have missed my blog posts here on The Liver Bird over the past couple of weeks, you may have not been arsed but I can assure you it feels bloody good to be back blogging and off we go with an Arsenal match preview! (P.s. I'm so glad I didn't have to write a report for that United game, 6am I was up to watch that... unbelievable!)
The Reds currently find themselves 5th in the table on 54 points after losing their first league game in 14 against Manchester United on 22nd March. It was a big blow for Liverpool who could have leap frogged van Gaal's side if they had collected all three points. Arsenal are sitting in third on 60 points having won their last six fixtures in the league.
Injuries for Liverpool have improved somewhat over recent weeks however the game may come too soon for Daniel Sturridge whilst Adam Lallana is also unavailable. The real problem for the Reds is the fact that both Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel start their three match bans on Saturday. Skrtel in particular will be a huge loss for Liverpool as Brendan Rodgers aims to forge an unfamiliar back three once again.
For Arsenal they have a few injury woes as Diaby, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Debuchy and Arteta are all unavailable. There is also a doubt hanging over Danny Welbeck who will be subject to a late fitness test prior to the game.
The last time the two sides met was in December last year. In a game that ended 2-2, Liverpool lost Fabio Borini in the 90th minute after he received a red card. I remember this game particularly well because I'd had a punt on Skrtel last goalscorer on his own and also a quid on the 2-2 scoreline. When Skrtel netted in the 90th minute I went mental! Haha.
At the Emirates, things become tricky for the Reds who have failed to win there in the majority of their recent visits. They did however collect all three points in August 2011 after an Aaron Ramsey own goal and a Suarez effort.
Stat Sandwich
- If Liverpool can keep a clean sheet on Saturday they will set a club record of seven consecutive away clean sheets in the league.
- Arsenal have found the back of the net in every one of their 22 league and cup matches at home so far this season.
- The Reds have picked up 26 points in 2015, only Arsenal have picked up more (27).
I don't mean to bring the mood down but I'm not holding out much hope for a win tomorrow. We may be able to nab a score draw but I just can't see us collecting all three points on Saturday. With the missing Skrtel and also potentially a missing Daniel Sturridge I think Liverpool may struggle both in attack and defence at the Emirates.
Arsenal play some very nice football and as proven in the meat of the stat sandwich above, they know how to find the back of the net. Of course Liverpool can rely on their brilliant clean sheet record and here's hoping we can pull off another one but at present it feels like a very difficult task.
I will almost certainly be having a few bets tomorrow so follow me on Twitter to see where my money goes - @LFCKirstyLFC
In the meantime however be sure to follow my new venture @PuntCheeky. It's just a simple Tumblr blog where I will be posting betting previews for random football games. A betting preview for the Arsenal V Liverpool game will be available later this evening over on the Punt Cheeky Blog.
Retweets/shares and follows are very much appreciated as I try to get this blog off the ground and see where it takes me!
Enjoy the match folks! Wherever you are watching.