At 01:30 a.m. Beijing time on December 24, the 18th round of the new Premier League season will stage a much-anticipated peak battle, and the Gunners Arsenal will challenge the strong Red Army Liverpool. Currently, Arsenal are first in the Premier League and Liverpool are second in the Premier League, making it a real battle for the top spot in the Premier League.
After the first 17 rounds, Arsenal has 12 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, accumulating 39 points, while Liverpool has 11 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss accumulating 38 points, ranking second with only one point. If Arsenal wants to get rid of Liverpool's pressing step by step, ride the dust in the Premier League as soon as possible, and establish a lead, they must win all three points in this game, otherwise, if they do not advance, they will retreat, and they will likely be left behind by Liverpool.
Faced with such a crucial game related to the Premier League title race, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will naturally go all out and unreservedly present the strongest squad in his mind. Here's a quick prediction of Arsenal's likely starting line-up for this game.
In the goalkeeper position, it is natural that the main goalkeeper David Raya guards the Arsenal goal, and at the back, Arteta is expected to continue to play a more solid back four formation, and the four big defenders who are likely to start are Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba and England international defender Ben White. Gabriel and Saliba will continue to play in the centre-back pairing, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White will play at wing-back.
In terms of midfield, there is no doubt that the main midfielder who is responsible for intercepting and tackling in Arsenal's midfield will be the England midfield talent and team standard king Rice, and the Norwegian midfield star Odegaard should be partnered with Rice to form a double back combination. Kai Havertz has been getting better and winning the hearts of the fans recently, and he is expected to continue to play a key role in this game.
Up front, Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus has been in fine form of late and will naturally continue to charge up front for Arsenal, while Gabriel Jesus will be paired in the front trident with British star Bukayo Saka and Belgian winger Leandro Trossard. Based on the above analysis, the final expected starting 11 for Arsenal against Liverpool are: David Raya, Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, Ben White, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Jesus, Trossard