It’s matchday, and the champions are at Anfield this afternoon. After Manchester City’s home defeat by Brighton yesterday, a win over Arsenal would take us to within three points of the top two.
It’s been a quiet night otherwise, with no fresh team news since Friday and nothing solid on the transfer front.
What’s at stake
City lost 1-0 at home to Brighton yesterday, with Yasin Ayari scoring in the 11th minute, while Chelsea beat ten-man Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
That leaves City top on 21 points from nine games, level with Arsenal, who have played eight. Brighton are third on 19, Chelsea fourth on 16, and we’re fifth on 15.
A win today would put us on 18, three behind City and Arsenal and back above Chelsea. An Arsenal win would take them three clear at the top and nine ahead of us.
Team news
There’s been no update since Friday, when Andoni Iraola said Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Muñoz “have a chance” of being involved. “I don’t know for sure if they will be involved or not,” he added. Both have been out since picking up injuries at Brentford.
Jérémy Jacquet wasn’t among the players pictured in Friday’s training photos, but there’s been no word from the club of any problem.
Jeremie Frimpong is out until after the international break, and Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees.
For Arsenal, Noni Madueke (ankle) was due to be tested in Saturday’s training, and we’ve seen no update on how he got on. Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are out, and Max Dowman starts his three-match ban. Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis have been training and are on course to be available.
Fourteen years and counting
Arsenal haven’t won a league game at Anfield since a 2-0 win in September 2012, a run of 13 league visits without a win. Mikel Arteta knows it: “It’s 14 years that we haven’t won there, so it’s time to do it.”
Iraola, meanwhile, is playing down the table. “I think it’s too early to start looking at the standings,” he said. “We know Arsenal, we know how good they are… but I also trust our players, trust ourselves.”
We’re looking for a sixth win in a row in all competitions, and Virgil van Dijk summed up the mood in his programme notes: “Games against Arsenal are always special, and Sunday’s will be no different.”
Old friends from San Sebastián
There’s a nice sub-plot in the dugouts too. Iraola and Arteta grew up playing together at Antiguoko, the boys’ club in San Sebastián that also produced Xabi Alonso.
Match officials
Andy Madley is the referee, with Nick Hopton and Tim Wood as his assistants and Tom Bramall as fourth official. Stuart Attwell is on VAR, assisted by James Bell.
Liverpool Women
Our women’s team are in action first, away to West Ham in the Women’s Super League at Victoria Road in Dagenham, kick-off 2pm (Sky Sports+ and the WSL YouTube channel).
Transfers
Nothing significant has come through overnight in our checks, and there’s been no fresh Liverpool news from the likes of David Ornstein and Paul Joyce.
Lennart Karl: the German paper Bild says we’re one of three Premier League clubs, along with Arsenal and Manchester United, to have asked about the Bayern Munich youngster’s situation. It’s a single report about enquiries, with no bid. Credibility: Low.
Federico Chiesa: Italian reports say he’d rather stay in the Premier League than go back to Serie A, with a loan and an option to buy seen as one possible route if he leaves in January. The Liverpool Echo, once a great paper, now part of Reach plc’s clickbait machine, reckons he and Wataru Endo look likely to leave next year, but that’s their assessment rather than a report of any talks. Credibility: Low.
Ronald Araujo, Alex Scott and Alexis Mac Allister: nothing new.
We’ve seen no other credible contract, ownership, investment, sporting-director or staffing developments.
Fixtures (UK times)
Sunday 1 November: Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League, 4.30pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 4 November: Fenerbahçe v Liverpool, Champions League, 5.45pm
Sunday 8 November: Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Premier League, 2pm (Sky Sports)
Sunday 22 November: Liverpool v Manchester United, Premier League, 4.30pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 25 November: Club Brugge v Liverpool, Champions League, 8pm
Sunday 29 November: Everton v Liverpool, Premier League, 12pm (TNT Sports)
Week beginning 14 December: Liverpool v Bournemouth, Carabao Cup quarter-final (date and time to be confirmed)
All kick-off times are GMT.
