What a wonderful Christmas program for us as the Premier League delivered a veritable top of the table clash!
Liverpool and Arsenal are evenly matched in this match, with Arsenal 1 point ahead of the Reds at the top of the table, but Liverpool are 1 goal ahead of the Arsenal in goal difference, and both teams have identical results in their last 5 matches - 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.
Liverpool's last Premier League game against Manchester United really disappointed me, and while United deserves credit for how they organized their defense to overwhelm Liverpool, I never really got the sense that Liverpool had the determination to blood their opponents.
In the last few years we would see Liverpool swarming around trying to organize their attacks from the back and thrashing Man Utd, only to be silenced by their opponents last time out to silence the Anfield fans, amongst which I think the key to the loss of points was in the midfield line, which will be the key to Saturday's win or loss.
Liverpool's current midfield is pretty much a one-dimensional squad, with Ryan Gwynneberger, Alex McAllister, Tiago Ajantana and Stephane Batiste all injured, and the only remaining healthy players, Koh Endo, Gudis Jones and Javi Arriello, all fluctuating in recent weeks, which highlights how well the ever-improving Sobo Slal has been performing this season, and how Koh Endo, on the other hand, looks like he's still adapting to the Premier League. On the contrary, Endo still looks like a player who is adapting to the Premier League.
Liverpool's strikers have also been in poor form lately, with every attacking player in the league and Europa League a few months ago, but Gap and Luis Diaz have failed to score in their last 7 games, and Darwin Nunes is in an 11-game scoring drought, leaving the burden of scoring goals on the ever-present Mohamed Sana. If they are to stay in contention with Arsenal and Manchester City, they will need all players in the attacking positions to score consistently.
Gop tried to rest a few key players like Sanaa, Alexandre Arnault, Ibrahim Ganadi and Dias in the midweek EFL Cup, which shows the importance he puts on the big game of the weekend. On the other side, Adidas has had a full week off with its players, which makes me think Arsenal is ready for this game.
Another point I would like to emphasize is the form of Arsenal's midfielders. I mentioned above that the weekend's game will be decided by the midfielders, and I think the Arsenal's midfielders are in better shape than the Reds. De Georges Rice has been a revelation this season, and at £100 million, he's a bargain! Martin Ordegaard has been consistent and Xaviers has been in good form in recent weeks, scoring 4 goals in his last 7 games. I've always believed he's a good player from his previous games at Chelsea, and with the previous injuries to Thomas Berti and Jorginho Fellows, he's taken on a new role in the midfield lineup and is gradually starting to show his worth to the team.
Another player we know is valuable to Arsenal is Bucayosaka. I'm quite a fan of the lad, he's contributed 3 goals and 7 assists in 18 games against the Merseyside side so far. I think he'll steal the show against Semakas at the weekend and I expect him to be a thorn in Liverpool's side, scoring 1 or 2 goals.
