English Premier
2026-01-08 - Arsenal vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Thursday 8th January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal
The days around the change of the calendar year could not have worked out much better for Arsenal as the club extended the lead at the top of the Premier League table. Mikel Arteta's team play last this weekend so that gap could be a little closer when this fixture begins, but overall The Gunners have put themselves in a favourable spot moving into the second half of the season.
Silverware is what matters and that is going to be decided in the months ahead so the focus for the manager and the Arsenal players is simply maintaining what has become a 6 point lead at the top of the Division. This fixture may also offer a chance to extend that advantage depending on results on Wednesday, but the only thing that really matters is improving the 9-1-0 record at the Emirates Stadium and keeping the pressure on those chasing them.
Arsenal have won 5 Premier League games in a row since losing at Villa Park and that has allowed them to take advantage of slips in results achieved by Aston Villa and Manchester City. The last Premier League game played here ended in a strong second half display as Arsenal crushed Aston Villa 4-1 and the side have won 7 straight League fixtures in front of the fans.
Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera are expected to miss out, but the squad is in a much healthier shape in early 2026 than they were twelve months ago when the title chase began to fizzle out.
Liverpool
After what felt like the perfect 2024/25 season, Arne Slot has seen his Liverpool team go through many more ups and downs in this campaign. The manager has been frustrated by some of the goals his Liverpool side continue to allow and felt they were undeservedly pulled back in the 2-2 draw with Fulham on Sunday to drop even further behind the League leaders.
In reality the defending Champions are focusing on earning a return to the Champions League rather than winning the Premier League again and Liverpool are 4th in the current standings. The inconsistent 4-2-4 away record has been something of a problem for Liverpool and they have scored 17 goals and conceded 18 in those outings.
Liverpool may have been held to consecutive draws by Leeds United and Fulham, but they travel to North London unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions. They were on course for a fourth win in 5 away games in all competitions when leading in injury time at Craven Cottage, but Harrison Reed had other ideas in the eventual 2-2 draw.
Hugo Ekitike was surprisingly missing on Sunday with an injury and there is a concern that he will not be available this week.
Head to Head
A late free kick scored by Dominic Szoboszlai helped Liverpool beat Arsenal 1-0 at Anfield back in August, but so much has changed for both clubs since then.
Last season both League fixtures ended in 2-2 draws.
Arsenal led twice at the Emirates Stadium and were pegged back each time, and that ended a run of consecutive home League wins against Liverpool.
Prediction
These two clubs were the leading title contenders twelve months ago, but Arsenal suffered through a massive injury crisis which ultimately saw them slip away from Liverpool.
This time around it is Arsenal looking in much stronger shape and Liverpool could be down a number of attacking options, which makes it very difficult to see how they can earn a positive result.
Arne Slot has been much happier with some of the defensive resilience that has been on display from his Liverpool team, but they will need to give Arsenal a reason to worry at the other end if they are going to upset the current League leaders.
However, there is every chance that Hugo Ekitike will miss out again and Liverpool are already without the likes of Mo Salah and Alexander Isak. That is a real concern for the visiting team against an Arsenal team that have proven to be one of the top defensive teams in European Football and could see Liverpool put under pressure.
Mikel Arteta's team have won 7 home games in a row and there is a depth to the attacking options that makes Arsenal very dangerous.
Even if things are not quite going to plan, the depth allows Arteta to make changes that will influence the outcome and there is a real feeling that Arsenal will have too much for a Liverpool team that are without key figures.
The Liverpool manager is right to point out the data that has shown his team have not been giving up as many quality chances as they had been, but the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United have posed problems.
Arsenal are better than both as an attacking unit and The Gunners can make another big statement to those teams chasing them that they are ready to get over the line this time around.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool
