EFL Cup: Liverpool Out To Defend Their Fortress

Liverpool vs Arsenal

It’s down to the final sixteen teams here in the EFL Cup, and we will feature the fixture between Premier League leaders Liverpool against Arsenal on Thursday.

The match is to be held in Anfield where the road team will look to shrug off their recent drama off the pitch while trying to upset the Reds in the process. The Gunners have struggled for the past week with a loss against Sheffield United and a draw against Crystal Palace.

On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp and his crew have regained their dangerous form as they recovered from their tough draw against Manchester United last week with wins against Genk in the Champions League and Tottenham just yesterday, and it’s hard to see anyone stopping them now.

This fixture will figure to be one that would produce a lot of fireworks and some of the best EFL Cup 2019 highlights. But first, SBOBET is here to give you some talking points ahead on this match on Thursday.

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Talking Points

Who can stop the Reds?

The Red Juggernaut is still rolling, and they are clearly a team on a mission after placing only second in the Premier League last season.

Jurgen Klopp has a very deep roster that can cover so well on the attack and the defence, and it also helps that they haven’t been bitten much by the injury bug this season.

At the front, they have the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane who are very lethal to say the least. Plus, they also have the quartet of Roberto Firmino, Fabinho, James Milner, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will continue to provide stability and quality at the middle.

Leading the backline are Virgil Van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Dejan Lovren, and goalkeeper Allison Becker, who have been a fortress defencively this season as they’ve only conceded eight goals after 10 match days in the Premier League.

With the team loaded on all fronts, perhaps the two things that can only stop them are injuries to their key players and themselves.

Speaking of injuries, their defence took a bit of a hit when Joel Matip was ruled out for six weeks due to a knee injury. Klopp indicated that the injury’s not that serious as most would think, and it’s just a matter of precaution so that Matip can fully recover.

With Virgil Van Dijk and Ki-Jana Hoever needing to recover, both are expected to sit out in this Arsenal game, leaving Klopp short of defencive options. The two are expected to be replaced by James Milner and either one of academy stalwarts Yasser Larouci or Neco Williams – who could make their debut for the club.

Arsenal are such a mess

The headline above just goes to show how much the Gunners have gone through over this past week and it’s ugly to see from a fan’s perspective.

Arsenal’s troubles stem from their internal strife, particularly on how team manager Unai Emery has treated their key players in Nicolas Pepe and Mesut Ozil. It has created a huge divide between their players since they were left wondering as to why Unai Emery didn’t utilize those two high-profile signings as much as he should have this term.

It also didn’t help when their captain Granit Xhaka sounded off some expletives towards their home fans in their match against Aston Villa. The Swiss midfielder stormed out of the field looking distraught and angry during that game.

Arsenal will look to put things right in the EFL Cup as they take revenge against Liverpool — Unai Emery is in need of good result after their recent poor performances

These problems keep stacking up for Unai Emery, and it’s unfortunate that it has spilled over to their playing form.

In their match against Crystal Palace, they were in control of the match when Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz poured in two early goals. However, their two-goal lead vanished when Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew scored for Crystal Palace leaving them with just one point to bring home.

It’s hard to see from afar on what’s going on inside that dressing room. But they better fix their issues now if they’ll have a chance of being one of the top contenders for the EFL Cup and in the Premier League.

History

These two teams have faced each other in 50 matches where Arsenal have won 19 times, while Liverpool won in 15 along with 16 draws.

The Gunners have yet to win against the Reds in the past three years.

Liverpool has been unbeaten at home since April 2017.

Betting Tip

	Liverpool vs Arsenal	Liverpool Asian Handicap -0.50 @1.94
	October 31, 03:30 (GMT+8)

The EFL Cup 2019 odds have placed Liverpool at 1.84, Arsenal at 3.95, and a draw 3.50 in the 1×2 market, and it is what I’ve expected.

After all, with their dominance in the Premier League, Liverpool are expected to continue their dangerous form and it’s hard to envision a viable challenger for the Reds in this tournament.

Arsenal can attack Liverpool’s shorthanded defence on this one, but the latter’s firepower might prove to be too much to handle, which is why I’m placing my bet on a 3-1 victory for the home team.