Liverpool take on Arsenal for the second time in two weeks this Sunday afternoon.
Having drawn 1-1 in a top-of-the-table clash at Anfield two days before Christmas, the Reds now travel to the Emirates for the third round of the FA Cup.
It isn’t the draw either side would have wanted at this early stage of the competition. One of the big boys is going home at the first hurdle.
And making his weekend predictions for Sportskeeda today, Paul Merson has predicted that it’ll be Liverpool who crash out this time. 2-1 Arsenal, says the former Gunner.
“Egypt have a good squad and should be right up there at the AFCON, meaning Salah could miss 4-5 weeks of action for Liverpool,” Merson said, justifying his prediction. “That said, this isn’t really a game they’d be worried about as it’s a cup fixture. However, Liverpool have crucial Premier League games coming up against the likes of Bournemouth, Chelsea and Arsenal and that’s when Salah’s absence will really be felt.
“The Reds also have a Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham on the horizon, so they are unlikely to play all their key players for this one. Arsenal are playing at home and face a Liverpool team without Salah, so I fancy them to win this one.”
Merson backs Arsenal to progress
It’s really difficult to predict what will happen during Sunday’s game. And although it’s obviously not a Premier League game, it may still have a bearing on the title race.
Arsenal have been poor since drawing at Anfield. Two straight losses have seen them slip to five points behind the Reds in the table.
Should they make that a third defeat on the bounce – and to a team they have designs on challenging – it could be a hammer blow to their confidence.
But turn it around and beat Liverpool, and they may suddenly feel like they can claw things back in the league, too.
From a Liverpool point of view, we don’t think the result of this weekend’s match-up will have quite the same resonance. If they lose, they lose. It shouldn’t put too much of a dampener on the feel-good factor at Anfield.
If they win, it will certainly accentuate belief in this team, but that belief is there regardless.
With a game to come against Fulham on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see what Jurgen Klopp decides to do with the line-up. We’d imagine he’ll go with a ‘Premier League’ type XI on Sunday, and a slightly weaker one mid-week. But let’s see, both are big games.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Merson’s prediction ends up being right. It could quite easily swing the other way though as well.
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