As far as title deciders go, the game at Anfield might just come too early to be quite so decisive. For Liverpool, though, it’s an opportunity to get ahead of Manchester City and set the early pace for the season. City done a similar thing last year to Manchester United, defeating them at Old Trafford to put paid to any plans of a title challenge in Manchester.

Can Liverpool recover from a challenging week to take City to the cleaners? Or will City finally make amends to their shocking record at Anfield?

Liverpool News

With the Reds due to go and play Napoli in Naples, there is a good chance that they’ll come back slightly more tired than City. With a day less to prepare and a more challenging foe on paper in midweek, this match will be a test of their title credentials as much as anything else. For that reason, there’s ample optimism around the ground that Liverpool will rise to the occasion – especially with a squad that is getting ever-closer to full fitness.

Expect Daniel Sturridge to miss out in favour of the effervescent front three Liverpool deploy in big games.

Manchester City News

For City, a late win against Hoffenheim will put them in a great mood for this most daunting of trips. With Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero on 9 goals between them, and with Aguero in particular adept at scoring against Liverpool, the Citizens arrive as confident as they could be.

After the shellacking they received at Anfield in January and in the Champions League, though, there is likely to be at least some doubt in the players. For City, the main challenge isn’t so much the line-up, but getting over their long-term recipe for disaster when coming to Merseyside.

Verdict

We can see a home win coming here; both side are among the best in the country, if not the world, but Liverpool are exceptional at home. So long as they can avoid periods of extensive pressure, and keep the ball better than they did at times against Chelsea, there is no reason why Liverpool cannot get a season-defining win.

Arsenal’s 2017-2018 campaign was little more than dismal. The gunners finished sixth on the table, their lowest position in the 22 years Arsene Wenger has been in charge. They also had 12 points fewer than the previous season, the least ever in the Wenger era. Arsenal lost the FA Cup that they’d won in 2016-2017 against Chelsea. In the Europa league, Wenger’s men could only reach the semifinals, while they fell against a clearly superior Manchester City in the final of the Carabao cup.

Arsenal’s woes started early in the season when they lost 4-0 to Liverpool in their third game. In the second half of the season, their campaign fell further into disarray. As empty seats became a common trend at the Emirates, the frustration and disappointment of fans became clearer. However, as soon as Wenger confirmed that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, emotional fans rallied behind him in a show of gratitude. Indeed, the 5-0 win over Burnley was the perfect send off for the manager.

Clearly, Arsenal’s performance this season was way below previous standards, and it’s an indication of the gulf between the club and the elite in Europe. Now that Wenger has left, there’s optimism that things will change. Unai Emery has already been unveiled as new Arsenal Manager, and the coach has the necessary experience to turn things around. The arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did a lot to boost the squad, and his partnership
with top scorer Alexandre Lacazette seems to be working very well. Mesut Ozil may not have had a fantastic season, but he still played very creatively this season. That Arsenal is bringing in new players is great news for the club. Lichtsteiner and Steven Nzonzi are some of the new players expected to be at the club next season. With the club strengthening in different positions, 2018-2019 seems set to be a better season for Arsenal.

When the season began, few people would have expected to see Watford flying high up in the table. With four wins from four, the Hornets welcome Manchester United to Vicarage Road. Can they continue their blistering start to the season, and really put a dampener on the mood at United?

Watford News

Having come back from 1-0 down to beat Tottenham Hotspur in their last match, coach Javi Gracia will be delighted with his teams start to the season. Troy Deeney looks reborn, while Roberto Pereyra is showing why he’s been linked with a move up the football food chain once again.

So far, Watford have been very impressive, conceding just three goals thanks to the solidity of their backline. If they are going to do anything in this game, expect them to maintain a consistent line-up, using the power of the likes of Jose Holebas to really make a significant impact. His power and strength should help to keep United’ pacey attackers out wide back.

Manchester United News

The Red Devils will arrive at this one hoping they can replicate their performance up at Burnley. While Marcus Rashford will miss out, despite scoring two in two for England, with suspension, United should not have too many injury problems to worry about.

They’ll need to see more from star players like Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, though. Both have started the season well, but have yet to show they can get United out of a hole when they really need it on a consistent basis: with Watford expected to fly out the traps, now would be a good time to start.

Verdict

We can see a draw opening up here; United looked good against Burnley and appear to have gotten over some of their earlier worries. Watford are a good side, though, and should be able to get something from the game. We tipped Watford to fight relegation this season; at present, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them dominate here. At home, they are a fearsome proposition.

After a decent start to the season, Leicester City play host to the potential title challengers in Liverpool. The Foxes have often been a bit of a bogy team for the Reds since they returned to the top flight, and will look to make up for two hard-to-take defeats to Liverpool last year.

Without their kryptonite in Jamie Vardy, though, can the Foxes hunt down the Reds and outscore one of the most effervescent teams in the league?

Leicester News

Expect Leicester to stick to a similar line-up to their last games, with Marc Albrighton, James Maddison and Demarai Gray lining up behind Kelechi Iheanacho. The Nigerian forward has struggled at times in the Midlands, and will need to use this time starting up top to displace Vardy for the long-term.

Wilfried Ndidi will play in midfield alongside Nampalys Mendy, who appears to be revived under Claude Puel. In defence, Wes Morgan will likely start with new signings Filip Benkovic and Caglar Soyuncu likely not ready to play just yet.

Liverpool News

Jurgen Klopp made clear after their fraught win against Brighton and Hove Albion that changes would likely be coming after naming the same line-up for three games on the spin. For this game, expect to see Jordan Henderson returning to the line-up, with Giorginio Wijnaldum the most likely one to miss out.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will start up top too, but we could see Daniel Sturridge given a game. Naby Keita might not start, either, having quickly shown signs of fatigue in the Brighton match amid acclimatization to the league.

Verdict

We can see an away win coming: Leicester are a good side, though, and will definitely cause them problems. This is likely to be the biggest test of Alisson Becker’ early Liverpool career: if Liverpool can win their fourth game on the spin, it’ll be the first time in the Premier League era they have won all four.