It's certainly fortune well-earned, with the Reds winning 11 of their 12 matches under the Dutchman, conceding just four goals in the process, but having benefited from a favourable fixture list which saw Slot face just one of last season's top eight in his opening seven Premier League fixtures, meetings with Chelsea and now Arsenal have also fallen at a favourable time.

Two of Chelsea's three ever-present defenders were suspended last weekend, which eventually led to Enzo Maresca using six different ones (and a handful of different players at full-back) during their 2-1 defeat.

For this Super Sunday clash at The Emirates they face an Arsenal side in the midst of an availability crisis.

The suspension of William Saliba following his red card at Bournemouth leaves the Gunners without him for the first time since 2022/23. It's likely to dominate the build-up given how keenly they feel his absence, with Arsenal's win rate dropping from 74% to 45% and goals conceded increasing from 0.8 to 1.6 per game when the Frenchman doesn't play.

Fellow defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber may also miss out through injury, with Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu definitely doing so.

Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are likely absent

But Arsenal's problems extend further up the pitch too.

Captain Martin Odegaard remains sidelined and Bukayo Saka is another player who looks unlikely to return to fitness in time.

Liverpool haven't beaten Arsenal in their last four attempts, and while the circumstances make it hard to imagine them having a better opportunity to do so, the dynamic of the game may in fact make it a touch less likely.

What are the best bets?

Given these issues it should come as no surprise that Mikel Arteta admitted his players looked tired in their laboured 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.

While the Arsenal manager would never admit it, escaping from Sunday's game with a DRAW would be an excellent result, which is what makes the 12/1 about NO GOALSCORER appeal greatly, as does the 12/5 about the match ending level.

It might feel as though given their list of defensive absentees that Arsenal will struggle to keep a clean sheet, but it is that very disruption to their defence that makes it more likely Arteta will set them up in a structure to make it difficult for Liverpool to play through them.

In Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Mikel Merino there are strong choices in central midfield to make this a turgid, unpleasant game for the visitors, and with Slot's team far more measured than the side he inherited it's unlikely we'll see much blood and thunder in north London on Sunday.

Of Liverpool's 12 fixtures in all competitions, only two haven't gone under 3.5 goals, with half seeing UNDER 2.5 GOALS, including three of their last four games.

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A low-event, low-scoring draw not only suits Arteta, but Slot too; W7 D1 L1 wouldn't be the worst start to the season.

Apologies for failing to whet the appetite for a thrill-a-minute clash in the same vein as last weekend's Anfield encounter.

I just can't see it, with a repeat of the arm-wrestles we witnessed between Arsenal and Manchester City last season - two matches that saw one goal and a combined 2.55 expected goals (xG) - the most likely outcome.

So let's all cheer on the 0-0.

Team news

Arsenal are without the suspended Saliba after his red card against Bournemouth. It's unlikely Saka will recover in time having missed their past two matches, and Calafiori is a major doubt after limping off in the midweek win over Shakhtar.

Timber, who has not played since October 1, is another unlikely to feature. Tierney, Odegaard and Tomiyasu all remain sidelined.

Liverpool striker Diogo Jota missed victory in Leipzig after injuring his ribs against Chelsea. Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa are expected to once again miss out along with Alisson and Harvey Elliott.

Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz are pushing to start after coming off the bench in midweek.

Predicted line-ups

Arsenal: Raya; White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Jorginho, Merino; Trossard, Havertz, Sterling.

Liverpool: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Diaz; Nunez.

Match facts

Arsenal have won their last two Premier League home games against Liverpool, last having a longer such run between 2004 and 2006 (4).
Liverpool haven’t failed to score in any of their last 17 Premier League meetings with Arsenal since a 0-0 draw in August 2015.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Liverpool (W2 D2), taking more points from these four games (8) than they had in their previous 14 against the Reds (7 – W1 D4 L9).
After losing to Bournemouth last time out (0-2), Arsenal face the prospect of losing back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time since 31st December 2023 (0-2 v West Ham and 1-2 Fulham). Prior to their trip to Bournemouth, the Gunners had only lost one of their first 25 league games in 2024 (W21 D3).
If Liverpool win this game, it’ll be their second-best ever start to a Premier League season after nine games (24 points – currently on 21). Indeed, the only other occasion in which they’ve won 24 or more points at that stage of a Premier League campaign was in 2019-20, when they last won the title (25 – W8 D1).
Arsenal have been shown the most red cards in the Premier League this term (three in eight games), while the record for most dismissals after nine matches of a single season in the competition is four – done twice by
Liverpool (1999-00 and 2023-24) and once by both Leicester City (1994-95) and Sunderland (1996-97).
Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League this season (3), while they also have the lowest xG against total (6.2). Their three goals conceded are their joint-fewest after eight games of a league campaign in club history (also three in 1978-79 and 2018-19).
Gabriel Martinelli has been involved in more goals against Liverpool in all competitions than he has against any other side for Arsenal (7 – 5 goals, 2 assists). Four of his five goals against the Reds have put Arsenal in the lead in the match, including all three such Premier League strikes.
Kai Havertz has scored in each of his last five Premier League appearances at the Emirates Stadium. The only Arsenal player to score in more successive home appearances in the competition is Thierry Henry, who has done so twice (6 from March-August 2000 & 7 from May-October 2004).
Declan Rice could make his 250th Premier League appearance in this game. The Arsenal midfielder would be the sixth-youngest player to hit that milestone (25 years, 287 days) and youngest since current teammate Raheem Sterling in March 2020 (25 years, 91 days).
Arsenal will be without the suspended William Saliba for this game, a player who had played every single minute in the Premier League for the Gunners since the start of last season, prior to his red card against Bournemouth. Since making his debut in the competition (August 5 2022), he’s missed just 11 Premier League matches, with Arsenal having a 74% win rate and conceding on average 0.8 goals per game with him in the team compared to a 45% win rate and 1.6 goals conceded per game without him.

Odds correct at 1200 BST (25/10/24)

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