This weekend, we roll out the red carpet for one of football’s oldest competitions as the third round of the FA Cup takes centre stage once again. With potential big wins awaiting punters this weekend, the fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool will be the eye-catching fixture to bet on this Sunday.
The fixture comes just over two weeks on from the Reds' 1-1 draw against the Gunners in the Premier League before Christmas, with the two sides locked in a title race this season.
That encounter was marked by a Mohammed Salah wonder goal and controversy over the failure to award a penalty after Martin Odegaard handled the ball inside the box.
However, Liverpool vs Arsenal is a fixture that usually brings plenty in the way of drama.
This time around, Liverpool will be without their Egyptian marksman who has joined up with the Egyptian national team for the 2024 edition of AFCON.
HOW MUCH WILL LIVERPOOL MISS SALAH?
The last time Liverpool had to soldier on without Salah due to AFCON, the Reds saw past 7 fixtures with 6 of them ending in a win for Liverpool and only succumbing to 1 draw which came against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. A duel that Liverpool won on the road to lift a domestic double.
With the additions of Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez to the Liverpool frontline, it’s hard to see why Klopp’s men would struggle to find the back of the net.
In addition to that, Liverpool’s midfield has been able to contribute 26 goals across all competitions, which gives a positive outlook to any Liverpool fan.
LIVERPOOL AND ARSENAL FA CUP HISTORY
Most recently, Arsenal lifted the FA Cup trophy in Mikel Arteta’s first season with the Gunners (2019/20), which took their total tally of FA Cup trophies to 14, increasing their dominance of the tournament as Man United follow with 12 FA Cup wins.
Liverpool on the other hand are England’s third best club when it comes to FA Cup wins as they currently sit with 8, sitting jointly with Chelsea and Spurs.
The last time these clubs met in an FA Cup clash, it ended in a 2-1 win for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.
A THRILLER LURKING AT THE EMIRATES?
This weekend, Arsenal host Liverpool without Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Viera who all miss out due to injury while Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey join their national teams for the AFC Asian Cup and AFCON respectively. However, Mikel Arteta will feel that his team has a chance to get a result following their recent visit to Liverpool.
In Jurgen Klopp’s side, Mohammed Salah and Wataru Endo are on international duty while Joel Matip and Andy Robertson continue to miss out due to injury with Dominic Szoboszlai potentially missing out on this clash while we might see the return of Thiago in the midfield.
Both teams are in a race for the Premier League title, but an FA Cup trophy could be a fair consolation for either team should any of them fail to lift the league title.
So can we expect a thriller at The Emirates? We can definitely expect all the fireworks in this one as both teams will be gunning for the win.