Liverpool vs. Arsenal Best Bet – Both Teams To Score and Over 2.5 Match Goals -120
Final Score Bet – Liverpool 3-2 +2000
Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Southampton last weekend may have lifted them to the top of the Premier League table, but this season has raised some worrying concerns for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Including their European Super Cup victory over Chelsea, last season’s Premier League runners up have conceded 4 goals in 3 games. Their second half performance against a Norwich side who were 4-0 down was disappointing, and they came under repeated pressure from Southampton last weekend. Defensively, they simply don’t seem to be at the level they were last term.
In fact, last weekend saw Southampton generate 1.89 expected goals at St Mary’s Stadium, surprisingly more than Liverpool managed that match. Against better quality opposition, this newfound love for attempting to play the offside trap is bound to become a problem.
That being said, at the other end of the pitch they look as lethal as ever. They have netted 8 goals in 3 games and their defense-destroying front 3 have already bagged 5 goals between them. This will be the main threat to a visiting Arsenal side who aren’t exactly renowned for their defensive stability.
Unai Emery’s side actually sit 2nd in the Premier League table having also won their opening 2 fixtures, beating Newcastle and Burnley thanks to that deadly duo of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, we saw that defense come into question against Burnley as Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood caused them all sorts of problems. It’s very unlikely to be easier when they face Liverpool, and you only need to look at their record last season to get an understanding of how fragile their defense is.
They conceded 35 goals in 19 Premier League away days last season, which is more than Crystal Palace, Leicester, Watford, Wolves, West Ham, Everton, Newcastle, and even Cardiff conceded. The Gunners have kept just 2 away clean sheets in the league since the start of last season, and now they’re coming up against a Liverpool side that have scored in all but 1 of their Premier League home games in the same period.
However, Arsenal have only failed to score in 3 of these 20 trips away too. With Liverpool’s dodgy looking defense, we’re expecting a return to the high scoring history of this fixture. No Premier League fixture has seen more goals than this one, with 155 goals in 54 games in total.
Both teams have scored in 10 of the last 12 meetings, with at least 3 goals being scored in 10 of these too. For this reason, backing Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score looks an excellent choice. In the end, we’re expecting Liverpool’s attack to just edge the meeting, and in keeping with their tradition of producing thrillers we’re going for a 3-2 win for the hosts.
