Arsenal vs Liverpool: How to watch, stats, news, injuries

A heavyweight clash takes place at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Sunday as Arne Slot’s towering Liverpool team travel to north London looking for a victory at the home of one of their Premier League title rivals.

Mikel Arteta’s side lost ground in the title race with a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth after William Saliba was shown a red card in the first half, while Liverpool made the trip to the title after an impressive 2-1 win over Chelsea Capital takes on Anfield, which has led many to question the credibility of Slot’s side.

Here’s everything you need to know, including team news, stats, fantasy picks and the latest:

Important details:

Date: Sunday October 27th at 4:30pm BST (11:30am ET)

Venue: Emirates Stadium

Referee: Anthony Taylor

VAR: Michael Salisbury

How to watch:

The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and NBC Sports in the US. You can also follow live updates from ESPN.

Team news:

arsenal

If Arsenal want to get back on track with a win over Liverpool, they will have to do without Saliba, arguably their most important defender. The France international will watch Sunday’s game from the stands as he is serving a one-match ban for the red card he was shown in the defeat at Bournemouth.

Arteta is battling several fitness issues ahead of Sunday’s clash. Chief among these is Bukayo Saka’s recovery from the hamstring injury that caused him to hobble during England’s Nations League defeat to Greece earlier this month and subsequently miss the trip to Bournemouth.

There was optimism at Arsenal that Saka would be fit for the trip to the Vitality Stadium. Arteta said on Friday that Saka was recovering well. However, Saka was not called up to the Arsenal squad on the south coast and Arteta said on Tuesday after the Champions League win against Shakhtar Donestk that the striker had not yet trained and was “unlikely” to be healthy enough to play on Sunday to be used.

play

Arteta: Arsenal must get rid of the red cards

Mikel Arteta talks about whether Arsenal’s discipline is a problem.

Riccardo Calafiori lost his life in Tuesday’s Champions League victory, suffering an apparent knee injury in the second half of Tuesday’s game. Arteta said afterwards: “I don’t know how big that is.” [Calafiori’s injury] So in that sense, not great news. So he couldn’t continue playing, which was a bit worrying.

Martin Ødegaard could make his first appearance since suffering ankle ligament damage while playing for Norway during the September international break. Arteta hinted ahead of the game against Bournemouth that the Arsenal captain has a chance of making a comeback against Liverpool.

Jurriën Timber could also be available for selection after recovering from an injury that has kept him out of action since October 1, but for fellow defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney, Liverpool’s visit is likely to come soon.

Liverpool

Slot also has to do without some of its key players. Diogo Jota was replaced by Darwin Núñez after just 30 minutes of the game against Chelsea and Slot ruled out the Portuguese striker from the team’s midweek trip to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

New signing Federico Chiesa has missed Liverpool’s last four games with an undisclosed injury. The winger has played just 18 minutes in the Premier League since arriving from Juventus in the summer.

However, there is better news for Harvey Elliott as the midfielder is close to returning to full fitness after being out for almost two months with a broken foot.

Fantasy clock:

With only three goals conceded so far this season, having a Liverpool defender in your team is a must – three of the four highest-scoring defenders this season are in Slot’s backline.

If you have the wherewithal to go for Trent Alexander-Arnold, as 30.5% of fantasy managers have, then it’s a win-win scenario. But if money is tight, a move for Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté or Andy Robertson on Sunday evening could be worth it.

Alternatively, acquiring Declan Rice could be a cheap and potentially fruitful move. The Arsenal midfielder cost just £6.3million in the game and featured for Arteta’s side in Saka’s absence.

Arsenal scored at least four more goals from corners (16) than any other team last season and no club can score more goals from corners this season. Combine Rice with the imposing figure of Gabriel Magalhães and you could start climbing the fantasy rankings.

However, keep in mind that Liverpool have yet to concede a goal from a set piece in the league so far this season.

Statistics:

• Mohamed Salah has scored 10 goals in 16 career games against Arsenal (one with Chelsea, nine with Liverpool). Salah’s total of nine goals in games between Liverpool and Arsenal is only bettered by Robbie Fowler (12), Roberto Firmino (11) and Joe Hulme (10). The only players to have scored more Premier League goals against Arsenal in their career than Salah’s 10 are Harry Kane (14), Wayne Rooney (12), Firmino (11) and Jamie Vardy (11).

• Liverpool have conceded just three goals in the Premier League this season, half as many as the division’s second-best defense (Nottingham Forest – 6).

• The Merseyside club are yet to concede a goal from a set-piece in the Premier League this season (Neither has Brentford), while Arsenal’s four goals from set-pieces are the most common.

• Liverpool have won 61.1% of their aerial duels in the Premier League this season – by far the best rate of any team in 2024-25. Slot’s team are on course to become the most dominant team in the air since Stoke City won 60.9% of their aerial duels in the 2013/14 season.

• With red cards being an issue at Arsenal of late, Arteta’s side have a record of 5-3-4 (WDL) in their last 12 games without Saliba in all competitions. This includes a 2-2 draw at Liverpool on April 9, 2023.

• Arsenal are creating an average of two fewer chances per game in the Premier League this season (11.5) than in 2023/24 (13.5) and have seen their average ball possession drop by 58.1% in 2023/24. 24 to 49.4% in 2024. 25.

Statistics provided by ESPN’s Stats and Information Group

Premier League form guide:

Arsenal – WDWWL

Arteta’s team became bookmakers’ favorites to win the Premier League title after a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium and Manchester City’s Ballon d’Or midfielder Rodri was ruled out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury. This was followed by victories over Leicester City and Southampton. However, Sunday’s defeat at Bournemouth saw them drop to third place, with Liverpool maintaining their excellent form and City securing a last-minute win at Wolves.

It is important to note that the weekend’s defeat was Arsenal’s first since losing the second leg of last season’s Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich on April 24.

Liverpool – LWWWW

Since Arne Slot succeeded Jürgen Klopp as head coach in the summer, the Merseyside club have not slowed down. Liverpool have won seven of their eight Premier League games, notably wins against Manchester United and Chelsea.

Slot has chosen to make only minor changes to Liverpool’s style of play since taking over, and this strategy has resulted in his team losing just once – against Nottingham Forest on September 14th.

Battle of the key players: Declan Rice vs. Ryan Gravenberch

The midfield battle will likely prove crucial in Sunday’s heavyweight clash. Rice hasn’t been at his best so far this season, but without the security of Saliba behind him, the Arsenal midfielder will have to do his best to stop Liverpool’s attacks at the source. Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign the England international so he can prove the difference in games like these.

While Rice’s start to the season was somewhat disappointing, Ryan Gravenberch has been a revelation since being slotted in as a defensive midfielder. Liverpool reportedly tried to sign Real Sociedad midfielder Martín Zubimendi to strengthen the middle of the pitch, but failing to sign the Spaniard left them looking for answers within their own squad.

Gravenberch’s ability to break up play and provide a calming presence in the middle of the pitch has been one of the reasons for Liverpool’s excellent start to the season.

Key questions:

Can Arsenal maintain their discipline?

Saliba’s red card in the defeat to Bournemouth was the third shown to an Arsenal player this season, raising concerns whether the team has a discipline problem that could affect their chances of silverware in May.

It is perhaps no coincidence that the three games in which an Arsenal player saw red this season also happened to be the three games he failed to win (Rice v Brighton, Leandro Trossard v City). Arteta said his team must “eliminate” the lack of discipline that has seen them drop seven points from their first seven league games.

Is Liverpool a real title contender?

Despite Liverpool’s confident start under Slot, many have pointed to the relatively simple fixture list at the start of the season. Victory over Chelsea at the weekend helped change the narrative about their title qualifications, but an away win at Arsenal would certainly dispel any remaining doubts.

The timing of their visit, with Saliba missing from Arsenal’s backline, may be coincidental, but Arteta’s team still represents the biggest test of Slot’s new Liverpool.

Latest news:

Mikel Arteta urges discipline after William Saliba’s red card

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said his team must “eliminate” the lack of discipline that has led to them receiving three red cards in eight Premier League games this season.

Arsenal fear Riccardo Calafiori’s injury ahead of game against Liverpool

Mikel Arteta fears Riccardo Calafiori could join Arsenal’s growing injury list after he was sent off in the team’s Champions League win on Tuesday.

Virgil van Dijk confirms contract negotiations with Liverpool are ongoing

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said he has started talks over a new contract but stressed he has “no idea” whether he will stay at Anfield next season.