Premier League rivals Liverpool and Arsenal square off Sunday, January 7th at Emirates Stadium for a third-round FA Cup fixture. The Reds sit atop the EPL Table, but they also realise this competition presents its own set of challenges.
Facts And Figures
If Liverpool were to beat Arsenal on Sunday, it would be the first time the Reds have beaten the Gunners away from Anfield in the FA Cup since 1964. Sunday will mark the 15th meeting in the FA Cup between the two sides for the second most common opponent faced. Liverpool's most frequent tie comes vs Everton at 19. Liverpool have only ever lost at this stage of the competition once, in 2019 vs Wolves.
Quotable Klopp
Jürgen Klopp met with the media and discussed a variety of topics. Most notably, the boss talked about how special the FA Cup is and how it is an opportunity to showcase the entire squad.
“It's not that we have the biggest squad available. We have players available and we can line a team up, 100 per cent, a good team, Klopp said. “We want to win these games, we want to go to the [Carabao Cup] final but we want to go to the next round [of the FA Cup] as well. But it is probably the most tricky draw you can get and it will be a tough one. The game here was a good one and let's hope we can show a good performance there as well.”
Salah, Endo On International Duty
In addition to the injured players, Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo for the match as they are on international duty for Egypt and Japan respectively. Dominik Szoboszlai also picked up a hamstring injury vs. Newcastle and while the prognosis is promising for a return to the pitch in League play, he has been ruled out for this match.
LFC Globe Verdict
This one will be a tough match for the short-handed Reds. Anytime Salah is missing from the Starting XI it is a challenge, but Endo and Szoboszlai have also been playing well as of late. Plus, it's always tough to win at Arsenal, no matter the competition. I'm predicting an unfortunate narrow Liverpool loss, 1-0.
Where To Watch
Kickoff from London is set for 16:30 GMT and will air on BBC One. Supporters in the USA can stream the action on ESPN+ and Canadian viewers can do the same on Sportsnet. A full list of streaming options is available by visiting LFC Globe's Live Streams page.