Prediction: Liverpool vs Arsenal

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport

Last season’s champions play host to runners-up on Sunday in a Premier League blockbuster, as Liverpool face Arsenal at Anfield in a high-stakes early-season title showdown.

Both sides will look to maintain their perfect starts on August 31, yet while the Reds have outscored their rivals, the defensive side of the story has so far favoured the Gunners.

Liverpool

From flair and ferocity to a teenage sensation netting a last-gasp winner, Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Monday night delivered on all expectations, leaving the Magpies dejected when the final whistle blew.

Even after former Everton player Anthony Gordon was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Virgil van Dijk, Newcastle looked more like the side reduced to 10 as they clawed back from 2-0 down to level the scores and seemed poised for a near-impossible winner.

Yet a 2008-born prodigy had other plans: in the 100th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai cleverly feinted a pass from Mohamed Salah into the box, allowing the unmarked Rio Ngumoha to seal a dramatic winner and extend Liverpool’s flawless start to the season.

Still, Arne Slot’s side face significant defensive work, as such vulnerabilities have left them behind both Arsenal and Tottenham in the early Premier League table. Offensively, however, history is within reach.

Liverpool require just one goal to establish a new club record of 37 consecutive top-flight matches with a goal, and in their 40 Premier League fixtures under Slot to date, they have scored in 39.

Team News

Liverpool’s defensive indiscipline can be partially attributed to Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister not starting a game together yet this season, but the latter is back in training after missing the Newcastle clash and is on track to be available.

As a result, the Reds’ only absentee for the visit of the Gunners is new signing Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring); Szoboszlai held his own as a makeshift right-back against Newcastle, but Conor Bradley is an alternative option for the weekend.

Scorer of 11 goals against Arsenal in the past, only Harry Kane (14) and Wayne Rooney (12) have struck more times against Sunday’s visitors than Salah, who ought to comprise part of an unchanged front four (along with Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz) when Arteta’s men come to town.

Arsenal

While Liverpool have combined attacking potency with defensive frailties so far in the 2025-26 Premier League season, Arsenal displayed disciplined defending at Old Trafford before Mikel Arteta enjoyed the perfect balance of attack and shutout against Leeds United at the Emirates.

The Gunners struggled to break down Leeds early on, but once a routine corner goal opened the scoring, Arteta’s side tore Daniel Farke’s team apart in what was an almost flawless display—marred only by additional fitness concerns.

Highlights included Viktor Gyokeres’s brace, Jurrien Timber’s commanding performance, and Max Dowman’s delightful debut, with Arsenal now in contention to achieve a feat not seen in 101 years: winning their opening three league games without conceding. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off at Anfield, however.

Whether keeping clean sheets or not, Arsenal have managed to win the first three Premier League matches of a season only once in the past 20 years, during 2022-23, but under Arteta they have repeatedly frustrated northern rivals.

The Gunners enter Sunday’s high-profile clash on a six-match unbeaten streak against Liverpool in the Premier League, yet they remain without a top-flight win at Anfield since 2012, when Arteta started as Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla secured a 2-0 triumph.

Team News

Arsenal face a number of injury setbacks, with key attackers Bukayo Saka (hamstring) and Kai Havertz (knee) sidelined for several weeks, and captain Martin Odegaard a doubt after suffering a shoulder problem against Leeds.

Additionally, Leandro Trossard (unspecified), Ben White (knock), and Christian Norgaard (knock) are all uncertain for the weekend, while Gabriel Jesus (ACL) is still a couple of months from returning.

New signing Eberechi Eze, who impressed when unveiled to the Emirates faithful last week, will compete with Ethan Nwaneri to replace Odegaard if the captain doesn’t recover in time, while Noni Madueke is expected to slot in on the right to cover for Saka.

Conclusion

Matches between these rivals have produced superb contests over the last decade, and the clash on Sunday should be no different.

Arsenal will likely take an approach similar to the one that got them the three points at Old Trafford, though keeping Liverpool out will prove a tougher task. On the other hand, the Gunners are more than capable of causing the champions problems, especially through set-pieces and quick, transitional attacks.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport