Arsenal vs Liverpool prediction & Premier League betting tips: Saka can send a message

Premier League leaders Arsenal have an opportunity to move eight points clear at the top of the table if they can beat reigning champions Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium this evening. (8pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

The Gunners saw their odds of winning a first title since the 2003/04 season clipped by betting sites without kicking a ball on Wednesday after Manchester City were held to a draw by Brighton, opening the door to Mikel Arteta’s side extending their lead with a sixth straight league win.

Liverpool are one of only two sides to have beaten Arsenal this season, winning the reverse fixture 1-0, with Arsenal’s other loss coming away at Aston Villa in early December, when they were beaten 2-1.

They made amends for that defeat last week with a 4-1 win over Unai Emery’s side, so can they do the same to Liverpool this time out? The bookmakers seem to think so, with Premier League betting sites making Arsenal short-priced favourites for the win.

The north London side go into the game on the back of nine points from a possible nine over Christmas, after securing wins over Brighton, Villa and Bournemouth last time out.

Declan Rice scored twice at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday night to help his side to a 3-2 win and move them 14 points clear of tonight’s opponents.

Liverpool have won just one of their last three games. A 2-1 win over Wolves was followed by insipid performances against Leeds United and Fulham which both ended all square.

After a goalless draw with Leeds, their first under Arne Slot, a last-minute wonder strike from Harrison Reed earned Fulham a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

Cody Gakpo thought he had secured the win for Liverpool when he struck in added time to give the Reds the lead, after Florian Wirtz cancelled out Harry Wilson’s early opener but Reed scored his first goal since April 2023 to grab a point.

Since Liverpool beat Arsenal back in August, Arne Slot’s side have won just seven of their 17 league games, but still sit fourth in the table and are 8/13 in the Premier League odds to finish in the top four.

If they are to close the gap on the Gunners, they will need to do something they haven’t managed since 2022 and that’s win at the Emirates in the league, although they did secure a 2-0 FA Cup win there two years ago.

In the league, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino were both on target for the Reds as they won 2-0 in March 2022, which was their third successive win there in all competitions, and the Gunners failed to score in all three meetings.

Last season, Liverpool came from behind twice to earn a point as goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah cancelled out those by Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino for the home side.

The other meeting at Anfield also finished 2-2 and football betting sites are offering 16/1 on that scoreline again. It seems unlikely though with Liverpool without Salah, Alexander Isak and now potentially Hugo Ekitike, who missed the trip to Fulham.

The French international has been forced to carry the bulk of the load since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring 10 goals in 26 games, and Liverpool will leave it late before making a decision on his fitness.

Arsenal, on the other hand, finally have a full forward line to choose from with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz now back to full fitness.

Defender Gabriel has scored two in his last two appearances for the Gunners, but we’re going to go for Saka in this one at odds of 13/5 to score at any time.

The England star has scored two in his last three appearances against Liverpool, and two in his last two at home so he certainly has previous. He has scored seven so far this season, but his last goal came at the beginning of December when he made sure of the win over Brentford, striking in added time to secure a 2-0 home win.

Five of his seven goals have come at home and he has also scored the last goal on four different occasions, and you can get 7/1 on him doing that again.

Arsenal vs Liverpool prediction 1: Saka to score at any time - 13/5 Betway

Liverpool might be looking a bit light in attack but they have only failed to score in nine games under Slot and haven’t failed to score against Arsenal in the league since August 2015.

Ten different players have scored in the league so far this season for Liverpool, and if Ekitike were to miss out again, then it would give another player a chance to impress.

It’s hard to see the Red’s keeping another clean sheet against Mikel Arteta’s side, as they did in the 1-0 win back in August though and both teams to score is worthy of consideration when looking at the football odds on betting apps.

Arsenal vs Liverpool prediction 2: Both teams to score - 5/6 Ladbrokes

Arsenal will be without Riccardo Calafiori once again and he joins Max Dowman and Cristhian Mosquera on the sidelines. Kai Havertz is expected to be involved after sitting out the Bournemouth game.

Liverpool are keeping their fingers crossed Hugo Ekitike can play some part in the game after missing the draw with Fulham due to a hamstring issue. With Alexander Isak (injury) and Mohamed Salah (Afcon) unavailable, Ekitike’s fitness is key. Elsewhere, Wataru Endo is out.

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Liverpool: Alisson; Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Szoboszlai; Mac Allister, Wirtz; Gakpo

Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool is one of the biggest fixtures of the Premier League season and those bettors who are keen to back the Gunners to win can get enhanced odds of 40/1 on a home victory.

The special talkSPORT BET sign-up offer is only available to new customers who sign up using the link above and opt in to the Arsenal vs Liverpool promotion.

Next, they’ll need to make a deposit of at least £5 before placing a maximum £1 bet on Arsenal to win at the usual match odds.

Should the Gunners win for the sixth league game in a row, bettors will be paid out on the £1 bet in cash, with the remaining amount credited as free bets to equal a payout at odds of 40/1.

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