Kick Off: 17:30 GMT

Location: Anfield, Liverpool

UK Broadcaster: Sky Sports

Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Arsenal Injuries: Vieira, Timber, Tomiyasu, Partey, Jorginho, Elneny

Arsenal Form: WDLWW

Possible Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Endo, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

Liverpool Injuries: MacAllister (doubt), Robertson, Jota (doubt), Matip, Gravenberch, Bajcetic, Thiago

Liverpool Form: WDLWW

	Team	P		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	17		7	2	0	22	8		5	1	2	13	7		12	3	2	35	15		20	39
2	Liverpool	17		7	1	0	21	5		4	4	1	15	10		11	5	1	36	15		21	38
3	Aston Villa	17		8	0	0	25	5		4	2	3	12	16		12	2	3	37	21		16	38
4	Manchester City	17		5	3	0	22	9		5	1	3	18	11		10	4	3	40	20		20	34
5	Tottenham Hotspur	17		5	0	3	15	11		5	3	1	20	12		10	3	4	35	23		12	33
6	Newcastle United	17		8	0	1	22	4		1	2	5	14	17		9	2	6	36	21		15	29
7	Manchester United	17		5	0	4	10	14		4	1	3	8	7		9	1	7	18	21		-3	28
8	Brighton & Hove Albion	18		4	4	1	18	12		3	2	4	16	19		7	6	5	34	31		3	27
9	West Ham United	17		4	2	2	15	10		4	1	4	14	20		8	3	6	29	30		-1	27
10	Chelsea	17		3	3	3	15	13		3	1	4	13	13		6	4	7	28	26		2	22
11	Fulham	17		5	0	3	17	9		1	3	5	9	20		6	3	8	26	29		-3	21
12	Brentford	17		3	3	3	16	14		2	1	5	8	10		5	4	8	24	24		0	19
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	17		3	3	2	11	13		2	1	6	10	16		5	4	8	21	29		-8	19
14	Bournemouth	16		2	3	3	8	12		3	1	4	13	18		5	4	7	21	30		-9	19
15	Crystal Palace	18		1	3	5	8	13		3	3	3	10	13		4	6	8	18	26		-8	18
16	Everton	17		3	1	5	10	9		5	1	2	12	11		8	2	7	22	20		2	16
17	Nottingham Forest	17		2	3	3	10	11		1	2	6	7	19		3	5	9	17	30		-13	14
18	Luton Town	16		1	2	5	10	14		1	1	6	7	18		2	3	11	17	32		-15	9
19	Burnley	17		1	0	8	10	22		1	2	5	6	14		2	2	13	16	36		-20	8
20	Sheffield United	17		2	1	6	8	21		0	1	7	4	22		2	2	13	12	43		-31	8

Pre-Match Facts and Thoughts:

A Christmas Cracker is about to be pulled apart at Anfield Road on Saturday, and after the damp-squib of a match against Man United last time out at Anfield, the country is looking to this match to provide a classic Barclays clash. Will this give the best gift in a cracker – the fortune telling fish, or the thing that no one wants and is quickly forgotten – the useless jumpy frog thing?

This mid-season top of the table clash has huge ramifications for Arsenal, having not won at Anfield since 2012 and narrowly missing out on a big three points at the stadium last year after a collapse having been up 2-0. Some say that the draw at Anfield was the beginning of the end of Arsenal title run last season, with Arsenal never really finding their previous form after that match. Three points for Arsenal is vital if the title charge is going to have a different outcome.

Liverpool find themselves hit with many doubts when it comes to players. Allison has seen a spell on the sideline but may be fit for this game, the same can be said for MacAllister, Jota, Gravenberch, and Thiago.

The winner of this match will see themselves top at Christmas (with a draw probably result in Unai Emerys Aston Villa sitting pretty at the top), a stat that is more often than not followed by a league title. Most recently, both Liverpool and Arsenal have found themselves atop the table at Christmas in 20/21 and 22/23 respectively, but both were undone by a mega City run in.

If Arsenal can show the same level of control as they did against Brighton last week, they have a proper shot at three points here. But, it’s Anfield – a bogey stadium for us, as proven last season. This season, however, we go there a different team – a team based around control, patience, and calm, as opposed to the more chaotic style of last season. Havertz and Odegaard are finding form at the perfect time going in to this Christmas period, the latter being a revelation after returning from injury. Also, Saka has a slick new trim, which can only mean he is about to either go on the worst run of his career, or step it up another level – there will be no inbetween.

I predict a close game here, eventually won by Arsenal. 2-3. Late winner.

Thanks for reading these again, I appreciate the support – I plan to continue these into the new year. Oh and er, have a good Christmas.