Liverpool vs Arsenal: Carabao Cup: Preview and Predictions

Liverpool and Arsenal will lock horns against each other for the third time inside a month as they compete for a place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. 

Mikel Arteta would be looking to avenge their 3-1 loss at Anfield a couple of days back by knocking Jurgen Klopp’s Reds out of the Carabao Cup. 

Whenever these two sides have met in the past, it has been a treat to watch especially for the neutrals, with goals galore and some fine attacking display. 

Head to Head Stats:

Arsenal haven’t won at Anfield since 2012 in any competition with recent seasons proving to be a nightmare visit for the Gunners at Anfield. 

In the last five encounters between the two, Liverpool have had the upper hand by winning three of their last 5 games against the Gunners, which included a 5-5 (5-4 pens) thriller last season in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup. 

Team News:

Both teams are expected to make a host of changes to their starting XI for this game. Kostas Tsimikas has joined Henderson and Joel Matip on the sidelines with a thigh injury ahead of this fixture. 

Apart from that, Jurgen Klopp would be looking to name an unchanged line up from their last outing in the competition, which was a 7-2 drubbing of Lincoln.

Arsenal themselves go into this game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win away at Leicester in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup this season. 

Mikel Arteta's side would be going into this game without the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Calum Chambers, and Shkodran Mustafi due to injury. New signing Runarsson is expected to get the nod ahead of Bern Leno in goal for the Gunners.

Key Battles:

Andy Robertson vs Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe has struggled to get into the first team this season with the arrival of Willian. Hence, he would be looking to put together an impressive display tonight. 

However, he won’t be having an easy night as he faces one of the best left-backs in the premier league currently in the form of Andy Robertson.

It would be an intriguing battle with both players possessing a tremendous pace. Pepe will have to time his runs perfectly and make use of the space left behind by Robertson when he bombards forward to join the Liverpool attack.

Divock Origi vs Rob Holding

Origi has been one player who has always stepped up for Klopp by scoring some of the most important goals for Liverpool in their last couple of seasons. He would be relishing this rare starting opportunity to show his potential against a robust Arsenal defense. 

Rob Holding has been a constant in the Gunners defense since the arrival of Mikel Arteta. This would be another interesting duel and possibly an important one as Origi would be one of the main goal scoring threat for the Reds. 

Predictions:

As compared to Monday’s premier league clash, which saw Liverpool dominate the game from the first whistle to last, this game will be more evenly contested in terms of possession and chance creation. 

Liverpool being at home where they have such a strong record would be favorites for tonight’s game but Arsenal would want to avoid elimination this early in this competition. 

Hence, my predictions for this game would be a 2-2 draw at full time and Arsenal winning on penalties.