Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
A glut of goals and explosive end-to-end action are usually guaranteed when Liverpool meet Arsenal in the Premier League, and their latest encounter promises to deliver more of the same at Anfield in Saturday’s evening kick-off.
The highly-anticipated Merseyside meeting pits the division’s last two remaining 100% winning records against each other, though only one perfect Premier League start can be maintained this weekend.
The last four skirmishes between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield produced a combined net-busting 20 goals, and matches between these top-flight heavyweights have seen more goals than any other Premier League fixture in the competition’s history.
Everything is set up for another cracking contest on Saturday, opening up endless possibilities in the bookmakers’ betting markets for the game.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled a selection of player special betting tips for Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal this weekend. Check them out below.
You can find more predictions, betting tips and special offers on our Premier League homepage.
Mohamed Salah – over 3.5 shots – 4/6
A combined 10 goals hit the net in Liverpool’s last two Premier League matches with Arsenal at Anfield, and the meaty final 5-1 and 4-0 scorelines in those contests reflected just how open the fixtures were.
An incredible 49 attempts on goal were racked up by both teams in that brace of Merseyside melees, and Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah accounted for a whopping eight of those attempts on his own.
Like most of his Liverpool teammates, the 27-year old winger has been feeling his way into the new season. Salah hit 2.5 attempts on goal on average per Premier League appearance so far, a figure that falls well short of last season’s 3.6 shots per game average.
However, our experts are tipping Saturday’s game at Anfield to be another high-scoring corker, and that should ensure that Salah is presented with ample opportunities to drag up his early season attempts average to more normal levels.
Wit the potential for goals on Saturday so high, it’s no surprise to see our experts tipping both teams to score as well as over 2.5 goals registered at Anfield. Read the rest of their predictions for the top of the table tussle in our match preview.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – under 2.5 tackles – 4/6
Liverpool fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold is more famed for his attacking attributes than his defensive contributions, and the defender’s statistics are in keeping with his reputation.
The 20-year old has averaged just 0.5 tackles per Premier League appearance so far this season, and on Saturday, we expect Alexander-Arnold’s challenge totals to be similarly low.
Unai Emery deployed his Arsenal attack in a noticeably narrow structure in the Gunners’ opening matches of the campaign, a system that has allowed players like Reiss Nelson and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to drift centrally with regularity.
If Emery sets his team up the same way at Anfield, Alexander-Arnold could find that he has no direct opponent to face down Liverpool’s right-hand side during defensive phases of play, and that should in turn result in his tackle count being relatively low this weekend.
Trent Alexander Arnold features in our Fantasy Football Game Week 3 tips. Read our guide to see who else made the cut and our 9/1 accumulator!
Sokratis Papastathopoulos – over 44.5 passes – 5/6
Remarkably, despite Arsenal’s back-to-back batterings at Anfield in their last two Premier League visits there, the Gunners enjoyed the lion’s share of possession on each occasion.
In Liverpool’s 5-1 gutting of Arsenal last December, Unai Emery’s men controlled 52% of the ball, and in the teams’ 1-1 draw at the Emirates the previous November, the Gunners enjoyed a huge 61% of the possession.
Arsenal are likely to see plenty of the ball again at Anfield on Saturday, and that should allow their central defender Sokratis to maintain his healthy early-season passing averages.
The Greek centre-half played 63.5 passes on average during his appearances against Newcastle and Burnley earlier this month, and we think he should distribute his way past the 44.5 pass mark at Anfield with relative ease this weekend.
It’s worth noting that Sokratis played a massive 85 passes on his last visit to Anfield, despite being on the wrong end of a hammering.
Andrew Robertson – over 60.5 passes – 5/6
25-year old Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson is also worth backing in the player special passes market on bet365 this weekend.
A good chunk of the Reds’ attacks start at the feet of the marauding Scottish defender – in fact, Robertson has played more passes on average per game (76.5) than any of his Liverpool teammates so far in 2019/20.
Robertson is almost certain to central to Liverpool’s moves from back to front against Arsenal this weekend, and that should allow him to pass beyond our targeted 60.5 passes figure comfortably.
Roberto Firmino to score anytime – 6/5
Liverpool’s hard-working Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino also features as an anytime goalscorer selection in our Liverpool vs Arsenal bet365 Bet Builder picks, and looking at his record against the Gunners, it’s easy to see why.
The 27-year old has rattled the net eight times in just eight career appearances against Arsenal for Liverpool, and Firmino notched seven of those goals in only four appearances versus the Gunners at Anfield.
While the other members of Liverpool’s attacking trident, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, are the bookmakers’ favourites to register this weekend, we think Firmino’s phenomenal individual record against Arsenal makes him the value bet.
