Liverpool vs Arsenal Betting Tips (20/11/21) – International Incidents Could Harm Reds’ Chances

The latest in what feels like a procession of international breaks is finally at an end. The period away from club football has enabled Liverpool to put some distance between their current mood and the 2-3 defeat last time out at West Ham, although with several key players picking up knocks on international duty it would be foolish to suggest the fortnight off has been wholly positive.

The big game with the Hammers did not get off to the best possible start, with Alisson failed to deal with an in-swinging corner and proceeded to palm it into his own net after just four minutes.

A nip-and-tuck game yielded few chances in the first half, and so it was always likely to take a moment of magic to change the scoreline – Trent Alexander-Arnold coming up with his trademark brilliance from a set piece to level matters.

Both sides had chances in the second period, with a fantastic save from Lukasz Fabianski keeping Sadio Mane from handing the Reds the lead.

But the Hammers always looked capable, and two goals in seven minutes completely changed the face of the contest. Liverpool were caught out by a counter attack – not the first time this season that’s happened – and Fornals scampered through on goal to fire low past Alisson.

There was more set piece woe for the Reds after 74 minutes, when another floated ball into the box was met by Kurt Zouma, who made no mistake.

Divock Origi pulled one back for the Reds with a superb piece of skill late on, but it was too little, too late and the Reds’ 25-game unbeaten streak came to an end.

The chance to embark on a new unbeaten run becomes in earnest on Saturday, with Arsenal the visitors to Anfield at tea time.

Liverpool Team News

The international break is a time of immense worry for managers like Jurgen Klopp, and for good reason.

Andy Robertson picked up a hamstring injury while representing Scotland, and he looks certain to miss out on Saturday. Kostas Tsimikas will surely deputise.

Meanwhile, both Mane and Jordan Henderson suffered injuries of their own while featuring for Senegal and England respectively, but their diagnosis is more positive and both should feature against the Gunners.

But the Arsenal game will likely come too soon for Joe Gomez, Naby Keita and James Milner, who are all more likely to feature against Porto in the Champions League next week.

Bobby Firmino looks set to be out until December, while Curtis Jones’ ‘freak’ eye injury will also keep him sidelined for the time being.

It leaves Klopp with a few issues to resolve, although on a brighter note Harvey Elliott has now returned to running-based training and could be back in time for the onslaught of fixtures over the festive period.

Arsenal Form

The improvement in Arsenal since August is remarkable:

• In August – W0 D0 L3 GF0 GA9
• Since August – W6 D2 L0 GF13 GA4

Credit has to go to Mikel Arteta for finding solutions to his early season issues, and heading into the international break he would have been delighted with his side’s progress.

There is a caveat, however. Of those six wins since August, five came against bottom half teams and the sixth was against an eighth-placed Tottenham side hardly playing quality football at present.

But there’s no harm in gaining confidence, and the Gunners will be looking forward to their trip to Merseyside you suspect.

Liverpool vs Arsenal Betting Tips

This is a Liverpool side hampered by injuries, and while the squad depth is in place now to cover for such eventualities, Klopp would probably want to have the likes of Firmino and Robertson at his disposal here.

Remember too that Alisson and Fabinho have had to travel back from South America, and Mo Salah from Egypt, and such excursions can cause issues. As such, and considering Arsenal’s form, Liverpool look a tad short at 1/2.

We might surmise that the best of the value lies in the Arsenal +1.00 Asian line at 23/20, while there’s some interest in the goals markets too.

Both these teams have goals in them, and both are occasionally questionable in defence. Arsenal could be without Thomas Partey, who is a useful shield in midfield, and so we’re happy to Dutch Both Teams to Score and the Over 2.5 Goals line together at a juicy 5/6.