Arsenal v Liverpool: Premier League football betting preview, free tip & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Arsenal v Liverpool in Premier League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 8.15pm Wednesday

Best bet

Over 1.5 first-half goals
2pts 7-5 Betfair

Team news

Arsenal
Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari and Gabriel Martinelli are injured. Eddie Nketiah is suspended. Matteo Guendouzi is out of favour and Mesut Ozil (back) is doubtful.

Liverpool
Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip are injured. Dejan Lovren returned to the squad against Burnley on Saturday.

Match preview

Just when Arsenal's defence seemed to be improving under Mikel Arteta, their old frailties reappeared in Sunday's 2-1 derby defeat at Tottenham.

After the Gunners took an early lead through Alexandre Lacazette, Spurs almost immediately equalised thanks to a mix-up between Sead Kolasinac and David Luiz before Toby Alderweireld headed a late winner from a corner.

That display does not bode well for Arsenal's chances of subduing champions Liverpool, who have scored 26 goals in their last eight league meetings with the Gunners.

The Reds also came through on penalties after a 5-5 draw with Arsenal in the EFL Cup in October and this fixture rarely disappoints goals backers.

It may be too much to expect another ten-goal thriller in a behind-closed-doors fixture when Liverpool have already sealed the title and Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for Europe are all but extinguished.

Jurgen Klopp's men were thumped 4-0 at Manchester City in their first fixture as champions but they responded with wins over Aston Villa (2-0) and Brighton (3-1), where they were 2-0 up inside eight minutes.

Their hopes of a perfect 19 wins out of 19 at Anfield this season were ended by Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley but that scoreline was due to an inspired performance from Clarets keeper Nick Pope rather than a lack of intensity from Liverpool.

The Reds won the shot count 23-6 and Mohamed Salah had twice as many attempts on target as the entire Burnley team managed, so Arsenal should be prepared for their customary battering from the Liverpool frontline.

One trend that could offer punters an edge in a tricky betting heat is the number of early goals scored in Arsenal's home matches this season.

Just two of the 17 league games at the Emirates this term have been 0-0 at the interval and the time of the first goal in those matches settled at 13, ten, 20, nine, seven, 21, eight, 36, two, 13, eight, 45, 54, one, 78, 33 and 21.

Betfair, Paddy Power and bet365 offer 5-6 about the opening goal being scored before the clock reaches 25:00 although that market may be complicated by the fact that a drinks break is scheduled for the 22:30 mark.

A better bet, then, could be for the first half to feature at least two goals. With so much attacking talent on the pitch, and some unreliable defenders in the Arsenal ranks, a fast start to the game looks likely.

The Tottenham game was the sixth match in a row in which Arsenal had taken the lead before half-time so the odds on over 1.5 first-half goals look tempting.

Key stat

Only two of Arsenal's 17 home Premier League games have been goalless at half-time.

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