LIVERPOOL and Arsenal meet in a table-topping Christmas cracker at Anfield in what should be a memorable Saturday night festive showdown.
The Gunners are top of the league, but their lead is slender with both Liverpool and Aston Villa breathing down their necks and of course, no one is writing off European Champions Manchester City yet either.
But this has the potential to be a fantastic game.
Liverpool were left deeply frustrated last week after pounding Manchester United's goal for the guts of 90 minutes without being able to break the deadlock in a goalless draw.
But they hammered the Hammers in midweek in a 5-1 League Cup romp at Anfield.
They have been ultra-consistent with their only loss in the Premier League this season coming at Spurs where they were reduced to nine men and even then it took a last gasp winner to beat them.
However, Arsenal look far more equipped this season to go one better than last season's near miss in the title race. The signing of Declan Rice has been a masterstroke.
But their two league defeats this season have both come away from London at Newcastle and Aston Villa and this is the sort of games they are going to have to take something from if they want to lift the trophy.
How the bookies view it
Liverpool are favourites here at 27/20 with Unibet.
Arsenal will have their backers at 15/8 with Coral and William Hill go 13/5 the draw.
Recent head to heads
There were nine goals in the two games last season. A 2-2 draw at Anfield came after Arsenal had won 3-2 at the Emirates.
Arsenal might have famously won the title here in 1989, but Anfield has been a graveyard for them in recent years. You have to go back to 2012 for their last win and they have had 12 visits without success.
Players to watch
Mo Salah cut a frustrated figure against Manchester United last week, but he got back to normal service in midweek against West Ham and is 7/4 with bet365 to bag his 20th goal of the season.
Gabriel Jesus is a key player for the Gunners and it could be argued he should have had more goals than just seven this season. But he netted in their win against Brighton this week and is 13/5 to score at Anfield.
Anything else catch the eye?
The obvious call for this is a repeat of last season's game at Anfield which ended with lots of goals and a stalemate.
You can make an opinion for a win for both sides here because there's so much attacking quality on the park – there should be goals at both ends.
A draw wouldn't be a disaster for either side in what is certain to be a raucous Anfield atmosphere and there is a reason why there is only one point between the sides.
This is traditionally a fixture with plenty of goals so go for over 3.5 goals here at a juicy 7/4 with bet365 and the same firm offers over 2.5 goals and both teams to score at 20/21.
This English Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal will be played on Dec 23, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Liverpool vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
