{"id":1382774,"date":"2026-01-06T15:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T15:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news-liverpool-team-news-vs-arsenal-predicted-lineup\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T16:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:01:44","slug":"liverpool-team-news-vs-arsenal-predicted-lineup","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/liverpool-team-news-vs-arsenal-predicted-lineup\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool team news vs Arsenal and predicted lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Liverpool will be looking to stunt Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes on Thursday, making it two wins from two against the Gunners this season.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool predicted lineup vs Arsenal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):<\/strong> Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz; Gakpo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool are on a nine game unbeaten streak in all competitions since changing their system, drawing four games and winning five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Liverpool team news vs Arsenal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arne Slot could be without both of his natural striker choices, as Alexander Isak remains out due to a lower leg fracture, while Hugo Ekitike is also a major doubt with a hamstring problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will likely mean Cody Gakpo leads the line again for Liverpool, with another option being Florian Wirtz as a false nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liverpool will also remain without the likes of Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo who have injuries of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Salah is also missing due to the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning Liverpool will be without three of their star-studded forwards for this tie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrow approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since their 2-0 win against West Ham, Slot has made tweaks to his system in order to solidify things after a poor run of form, which saw the Reds lose their three games prior by three goals margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The systematic change saw Slot implementing overlapping full-backs to better affect, which was a predicted direction for this Liverpool side after the additions of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong in the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This allowed Liverpool to overload the centre, having all four of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz in the team together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By packing the middle, Liverpool have been able to counter press more effectively, control games with closer proximity between the midfielders and start to pick up more points as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are plenty of positives of their new system, one area that is currently lacking is the explosivity in the front-line, which is quite heavily packed with ball to feet players, especially with the likes of Salah and Isak out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can sometimes mean Slot’s side become quite sterile in the final third, struggling to inject the tempo needed and beat a man 1v1 to open things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will be interesting to see if Salah can add that by coming back into the side with a free inside-forward role, allowing him to take risks and speed things up in more central areas.<\/p>\n\n\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n