Arsenal entertain Liverpool in midweek blockbuster; Other PL Matchday 36 Wednesday preview

Arsenal vs Liverpool

Arsenal will entertain newly crowned Premier League champions, Liverpool, tonight at the Emirates as they look to fight for a European slot.

Mikel Arteta has come out to say it would be a huge blow if his side fails to qualify for Europe next season.

Failure to qualify will see Arsenal go without European competition for the first time since the 1995-96 season, while it will be a third successive campaign without Champions League football.

The gunners lost to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend and will look to get back to winning ways against the most difficult opponent in the league.

Toby Alderweireld scored a late winner for Spurs in the North London Derby on Sunday in a game that was undone by Arsenal’s leaky defence.

Arsenal should have gone on to win the game against Tottenham. They had a better shape and they were the better side at creating chances. But they got lazy in the second half, and it was the same old story.

The Liverpool side have been crowned champions before the loss to Manchester City and would most likely win against one of the weakest defensive sides in the league. Arsenal’s shape has improved, but their defenders have not, and that could come back to haunt them again.

Team news

Arsenal

Arsenal won’t have young forward Eddie Nketiah available for tonight’s game against Liverpool. The youngster serves the second match of a three-game suspension following his red card against Leicester City.

Mesut Ozil’s back will be assessed, while Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers are set to miss the remainder of the season.

Liverpool

Liverpool will most likely select from the same squad that drew with Burnley.

James Milner remains out and Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson will both miss the rest of 2019-20 because of injury.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to return at right-back, having been rested on Saturday, and Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, against his former club, look set to contest one midfield place.

Head-to-head

• Arsenal are winless in nine Premier League meetings with Liverpool since a 4-1 victory at the Emirates in April 2015 (D4, L5).
• The Gunners have conceded 90 goals against Liverpool in the Premier League, a club record against a single opponent.

Stats and facts heading to the match

• Arsenal’s defeat against Tottenham ended a four-match unbeaten run (W3, D1).
• The Gunners can win a maximum of 59 points this season, which would be their lowest-ever total for a 38-match campaign.
• They have won just one match this season against established top-six teams (D3, L5).
• Arsenal have dropped a league-high 15 points from winning positions since Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge in December.
• Alexandre Lacazette has scored two goals in his last three league appearances, equalling his tally from the previous 14 games.
• Liverpool need to win their remaining three games to surpass Manchester City’s record of 100 Premier League points.
• They can set a new club top-flight record by securing a 31st win of the season against Arsenal.
• Since the restart, Liverpool have gone winless in three of their six Premier League matches (D2, L1). The Reds had only failed to win two of their previous 38 games in the competition.
• The Reds have won their last five Premier League games in London, including all four this season. Liverpool last won 100% of their top-flight games in the capital in a single season in 1933, when Arsenal and Chelsea were the only London sides in the division.
• Jurgen Klopp is unbeaten in his eight Premier League games against Arsenal (W5, D3), with Liverpool scoring 26 goals in those games. He’s only faced Everton (9) more often without defeat in the competition, while only against Watford (27) has his side scored.

Prediction: Arsenal 1-3 Liverpool

Manchester City vs Bournemouth

Manchester City might make it a third consecutive 5-0 Premier League victory as they welcome Bournemouth on Wednesday. Newcastle United and Brighton have been victims over the past couple of days.

Related: Manchester City wins appeal to overturn two-year European ban

Bournemouth, on the other hand, are fighting to stay up in the league and had a wonderful result against Leicester, coming back from a goal down to defeat the Foxes 4-1. They could prove to be a dangerous opponent for the Citizens.

Team news

Manchester City could have Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo back after missing the Brighton win with minor injuries.

Sergio Aguero remains the only absentee as he continues his rehabilitation after knee surgery.

Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake could miss the rest of the season because of the groin injury he sustained during the win over Leicester.

Joshua King’s hamstring problem will be assessed but Adam Smith definitely misses out with a head injury.

This leaves the Cherries stretched in defence, with Chris Mepham and Simon Francis still sidelined by knee injuries, although Steve Cook did come off the bench against Leicester after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Bournemouth

Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Jose Mourinho would very much relish the chance to mount a winning streak for the remainder of the season after his first North London derby win over Arsenal at the weekend.

The Gunners played better but Tottenham took their chances and were the eventual winners on the day.

Spurs travel to the St. James Park to face Newcastle in a midweek clash tonight and anything short of a win would dent their hopes of finishing in contention for European football next season.

Newcastle have run out of legs a little bit. They lost to Watford after going ahead and giving two penalties away. Newcastle are still going to be awkward for Tottenham, who will look to stay in the mix for Europe.

Team news

Newcastle will be without loan signing Danny Rose who is ineligible to feature against his parent club for Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham.

The full-back is likely to be joined on the sidelines by central defender Jamaal Lascelles (ankle) and midfielders Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff (both hamstring).

Head coach Steve Bruce also has a series of knocks to assess and will run the rule over Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron after their exertions in recent weeks, while defenders Florian Lejeune and Ciaran Clark continue to work their way back to fitness.

Tottenham will let Serge Aurier decide whether he plays following the death of his brother on Monday.

Tanguy Ndombele suffered an injury in training and is not expected to play while Dele Alli’s hamstring problem looks set to keep him out again.

Eric Dier is serving the third match of his ban and Juan Foyth (knee) is a long-term absentee.

Prediction: Newcastle United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Burnley vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves returned to winning ways against Everton at the weekend, having dropped all 3 points in their two previous matches against Sheffield United and Arsenal. They won 3-0 at home against Everton and it put them solidly in 6th position which means they are in a European spot.

Should Wolves manage another victory at the Turf Moor tonight, it would lift their spirits and spur them on to maintain their European spot come end of the season.

Burnley, on the other hand, are a tough nut to crack as even newly crowned champions couldn’t defeat them at Anfield over the weekend. Both sides played a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.

Team news

Burnley’s manager, Sean Dyche, revealed Jack Cork’s minor ankle operation had gone well but the midfielder will not feature again this season ahead of their game with Wolves.

Ben Mee is also likely to remain sidelined for Burnley’s remaining games along with Matt Lowton and Barnes, who are both making progress.

Winger Pedro Neto is one of several “issues to assess” for Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League game at Burnley.

The Portuguese was forced off early in the second half of Wolves’ 3-0 home win against Everton on Sunday.

Neto has been training with fitness coach Antonio Dias since, although Nuno confirmed it is not the same problem he suffered against Arsenal a couple of weeks ago.

Prediction: Burnley 1-2 Wolves