Paul Merson predicts Liverpool v Arsenal
By Harvey Byrne
Paul Merson has tipped a 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal on Saturday evening.
The Merseyside giants are preparing for a near top of the table clash against the Gunners at Anfield.
It is a return of the opening day fixture when two goals from Philippe Coutinho alongside strikes from Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane helped Jurgen Klopp’s side to a hard-fought 4-3 win.
However, Merson believes his old London club will perform better this time around and has predicted a lot of goals in the encounter.
“I could not believe how bad Liverpool were on Monday,” started Merson on the Sky Sports website.
“They were terrible. You’d expect them not to be as bad again with Arsenal in town, but I am struggling to predict a winner in this game so that’s why I’m going for a 2-2 draw.
“There will be plenty of goals because both sides will go gung-ho. Arsenal just need to stay in the game in the first 20 minutes and if they can do that they will have an excellent chance of getting a positive result.”
Liverpool have slipped out of the Champions League places and down to fifth after a disastrous run of form since the turn of the year.
Their last match saw them fall to a heavy 3-1 defeat against a struggling Leicester and with Arsenal one point ahead of the Reds in fourth they will know that a positive result this weekend is crucial.
The north London club have also experienced a bad spell with three defeats and two wins from their last five games in all competitions and they will also be gunning for all three points at the weekend as they seek a positive end to what could be Arsene Wenger’s last season in charge.