Naby Keita and Trent Alexander-Arnold could return to the starting lineup when Liverpool face Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
Liverpool will be keen to continue their quest of reaching the 100-point milestone when they travel to Emirates to face Arsenal on Wednesday evening. The Reds need to collect eight points in the three remaining matches to break Manchester City’s record, meaning this could be a must-win encounter for them.
In his pre-match online press conference, Jurgen Klopp raved about Arsenal’s strength and their success under Mikel Arteta, stating, “Obviously at Arsenal [there is] a really exciting squad, all the different offensive [players]. They have more experienced offensive players with massive quality, and then coming up a lot of really, really good ones. So, yes, it looks like Arsenal will be a proper challenger again. “
Hence, the Liverpool manager is most likely to recall a few of his star players who missed out in the draw with Burnley, including Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The English international is tipped to replace Neco Williams at right-back while Andrew Robertson will retain his place on the opposite flank. Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk should also start in central defence, just ahead of goalkeeper Alisson, especially with Joel Matip out injured.
In midfield, Liverpool will miss out on the services of James Milner and Jordan Henderson. Their absence should create a competition between Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, for the additional midfield slot alongside Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Jones started in the last game against Burnley while Oxlade-Chamberlain can be used in a more attacking role, perhaps as a substitute. Therefore, Keita is most likely to get the nod ahead of Jones and Oxlade-Chamberlain. His dynamism, flair and technical prowess could be key in breaking down the timid Arsenal backline.
However, the real challenge for the Arsenal backline this week is to cope with Liverpool’s revered offensive trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Salah, in particular, is among the players who are still in the race for the Golden Boot. The Egyptian wizard has 19 goals to his name so far, one behind Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and four adrift of the Premier League’s top-scorer Jamie Vardy. Hence, he will be hoping for a strong performance against the Gunners this week.
Liverpool Predicted XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
