Sports Blog 19/12/2014: Match Preview – Liverpool vs Arsenal, Sunday 21st December

Sunday sees a league return to Anfield for an Arsenal team that will be hoping to exorcise the demons of their 5-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool last season.

However, a lot has happened since then, and Liverpool are far from the team that scored 101 goals to finish second. The loss of Luis Suarez, and the prolonged injury to Daniel Sturridge, has seen the Reds only manage to score 19 as we reach the season’s half way point. Things aren’t completely rosy for Arsene Wenger’s men either; despite an emphatic 4-1 over Newcastle last Sunday, the Gunners are still in 6th place.

Arsenal are in the better form, with 5 wins and 1 loss out of the last 6 games; Liverpool, on the other hand, have been incredibly spotty, with 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss. The Reds’ latest win on Wednesday against Championship table-toppers Bournemouth saw them earn a League Cup semi-final against Chelsea. However this will little consolation after an early Champions League exit and a dismal 11th place position in the league.

In terms of head to heads, Arsenal have lost just 1 out of the last 6 meetings with Liverpool; however it was one heavy loss, the aforementioned 5-1 thrashing at Anfield in February. Yet with Liverpool appearing to be a shell of the team they were last season, Sunday could see yet another loss against a major side for Brendan Rogers’ men.



Despite Arsenal being in the better form, our Spreadex clients still marginally fancy Liverpool to utilise their home advantage and regain the spirit that saw their astounding victory last season, with a Liverpool/Arsenal Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of -0.1 to 0.1. And with that goal-filled game last season in mind, Spreadex are offering a healthy Total Goals spread betting quote of 2.8 to 3.

However, despite this fairly robust Total Goals spread, on paper Arsenal are looking the likelier to score, with an inform Alexis Sanchez at 13/2 to score first; Giroud, back from injury and getting a brace last weekend is 6/1 fixed odds betting to get the first goal, whilst Santi Cazorla, the scorer of Arsenal’s other goals last week, is at 10/1. Steven Gerrard, joined by Raheem Sterling, remain Liverpool’s top scorers with only 5 goals each; they are 9/1 and 6/1 to score first respectively. And with Balotelli suspended for a racist picture on Instagram, Rickie Lambert has surprisingly low odds to score first at 6/1, despite only scoring twice this season.

Both teams will be desperate for a win on Sunday if they are to stand a chance of reaching the top four – the minimum requirement for Wenger and Rodgers alike. With Liverpool struggling to score, and Arsenal perpetually shaky at back, it will be down to talismans like Gerrard and Sanchez to make the difference.