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Liverpool’s visit to the Emirates to take on Arsenal on Sunday is fascinating for a variety of reasons.
Arsenal are the shock leaders of the Premier League, albeit by a single point over Manchester City.
Likely more shocking is the fact Liverpool sit in ninth, 11 points back of the Gunners, with a game in hand. Even if they win this weekend and win their game in hand, they’ll sit five back of Arsenal, something no one saw coming.
Arsenal were a team on the rise, but there remains a feeling of caution, that they’re in this position due to a red-hot vein of form and they’ll come back to earth soon.
But their spanking of hated rivals Tottenham, 3-1, last week has raised eyebrows, and if they claim Liverpool’s scalp this weekend then it can be said that Arsenal truly are title contenders. With Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea all faltering they will be the only club that can even pretend to challenge City this season.
Since 2015 Arsenal have only beat Liverpool once in the Premier League, and that was the 2020 Covid season where Liverpool had already clinched the league and the game was meaningless. Quite simply, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has owned Arsenal.
The Reds form this season has been most puzzling. After winning both domestic cups and coming within one point of winning the Premier League and one goal within winning the Champions League, they were seen as one of the best teams in Europe.
But following their opening day draw with Fulham, they’ve had more wake up calls than you can count. Even last week they fell behind 2-0 to Brighton before storming back to a 3-2 lead only to surrender yet again and finish with yet another draw.
Something’s not right. Whether it’s age, tactics, or difficulty adjusting to the departure of Sadio Mane, the Reds are a pale impression of what they were last season.
They switched to a new formation midweek in the Champions League, a 4-2-4 of sorts, that leaves Jordan Henderson and Fabinho as a defensive shield and has a front four pressing like demons. They dominated Rangers, even though they were terribly wasteful in front of goal, in a 2-0 win. But Rangers and Arsenal are drastically different opponents.
This game will tell us an awful lot about both teams, is this the game Liverpool get back on track and Arsenal’s bubble bursts? Or are the Gunners here to stay, and the Reds can expect a season-long scrap just to finish in the Top Four and get into the Champions League again next season? My guess is you’ll see a Klopp masterclass and a spark for Liverpool but it honestly wouldn’t shock me if Arsenal also racked up 2- or 3-goal win.
When you look at the rest of the matches this weekend the theme appears to be the managerial merry-go-round. Wolves sacked Bruno Lage last week and are rumoured to be hiring Julen Lopetegui who was fired by Sevilla on Wednesday. Brendan Rodgers got a reprieve when Leicester thrashed Nottingham Forest 4-0 last week, but if he doesn’t build on that with a win against Bournemouth could plunge back into trouble.
Speaking of Forest, they’re on the brink of canning manager Steve Cooper as they now sit last in the Premier League after bringing in an astonishing 23 new players, spending $230 million in the process. Forest play Aston Villa, who themselves have been flirting with parting ways with Steven Gerrard. So the loser of this game may well lose their job as well.
If it’s Forest, that may suit Southampton who themselves have been linked with moving on from Ralph Hasenhüttl and bringing in Cooper should the Tricky Trees axe their gaffer.
Hasenhüttl’s job may be the toughest to hang onto as they face a rampant City who have a +20 goal difference already, with 29 goals scored, nine goals better than the second-highest scoring team, Arsenal. Erling Haaland, who got this third hattrick of the season last week in their 6-3 evisceration of city rivals United, also scored twice in the Champions League midweek. Haaland already looks fated to run away with the Golden Boot and shatter all EPL scoring records in the process. Boring, predictable and terrible for business, but there’s no doubt City and Haaland are putting together a generational season.
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SATURDAY: Bournemouth v. Leicester; Chelsea v. Wolves; Manchester City v. Southampton; Newcastle v. Brentford; Brighton v. Tottenham.
SUNDAY: Crystal Palace v. Leeds; West Ham v. Fulham; Arsenal v. Liverpool; Everton v. Manchester United.
MONDAY: Nottingham Forest v. Aston Villa.
SERIE A
Which story is a better one, the juggernaut start to the season for Napoli or the drunken start to Internazionale’s season? Leaders Napoli are already eight points ahead of ninth-place Inter who have surrendered a stunning 13 goals already this season.
Napoli are coming off a 6-1 demolition of Ajax in the Champions League and face 19th-place Cremonese on Sunday.
Two fantastic matchups beckon this weekend though, one more of a traditional nature while two burgeoning Italian powers at the top of the table meet.
AC Milan host Juventus. While Milan’s start has been solid, they’ve won three of four and are just three points off the top, they are coming off a 3-0 humiliation against Chelsea in the Champions League.
Juventus are coming off a win last weekend but that was their first win in their last four games and they already sit seven points off the top spot.
But all eyes should be on Udinese vs. Atalanta on Sunday. Atalanta are level with Napoli on points, Udinese sit one point back but riding a six-match winning spree. Both clubs have talent but no one was picking either to be a factor in the title race and this early-season matchup should be brilliant to watch. Atalanta have gone from a team that made its name by playing exciting attacking tactics to one much more stout at the back, having only given up three goals in eight games to start the campaign.
SATURDAY: Sassuolo v. Inter Milan; AC Milan v. Juventus; Bologna v. Sampdoria.
SUNDAY: Torino v. Empoli; Monza v. Spezia; Salernitana v. Hellas Verona; Udinese v. Atalanta; Cremonese v. Napoli; Roma v. Lecce.
MONDAY: Fiorentina v. Lazio.
LA LIGA
While it may be a mild surprise that Barcelona are level with Real Madrid on points at the top of the table, it’s likely much more of a surprise how they are doing it.
They’ve scored 19 goals in seven games, which is great, but they’ve only given up one measly goal so far.
While they’re still a work in progress, and their finances remain a mess, that kind of stout defensive record is going to put them on track to win trophies again.
Sevilla fired popular manager Julen Lopetegui this week as they were one of the dark horses to contend this season and sit in 17th spot. They host Athletic Bilbao who have stolen their place as a Top Four outsider, they sit in third behind the big two just three points off the lead.
FRIDAY: Osasuna v. Valencia.
SATURDAY: Almería v. Rayo Vallecano; Atlético Madrid v. Girona; Sevilla v. Athletic Bilbao; Getafe v. Real Madrid.
SUNDAY: Real Valladolid v. Real Betis; Cádiz v. Espanyol; Real Sociedad v. Villarreal; Barcelona v. Celta Vigo.
MONDAY: Elche v. Mallorca.
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