The start of the Premier League may still be three weeks away, but fans can catch a glimpse of two English heavyweights on 1st August.
Preseason is in full swing for English clubs, and with the Premier League season just three weeks away, fans are buzzing with excitement. If you're itching to catch a glimpse of what's in store for this season’s title race, Arsenal's upcoming preseason friendly against Liverpool may provide a perfect sneak peek.
The Gunners will face the Reds in a thrilling preseason friendly at the Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.
Over the past couple of years, the Gunners have established themselves as a legitimate challenger to Manchester City’s dominance over the English top-flight. However, for the second consecutive season, they fell just short of an elusive Premier League title. Nevertheless, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta should take solace from the fact that they accumulated 89 points, a points tally which would have earned them the Premier League title on 15 different occasions.
But as fate would have it, Manchester City piped them to the title by just two points. Now, Mikel Arteta must ensure that his men are as motivated as ever to finally end City’s dominance. Arsenal’s hierarchy have also handed Arteta a massive boost after they signed 22-year-old Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori this summer. With more transfers in the pipeline, the Gunners will surely be in the mix for the Premier League title. Moreover, the Gunners have begun their preseason in a promising manner, securing victories over Bournemouth and Manchester United.
Liverpool, another club seen as a title contender, have had a promising start to life under their new head coach, Arne Slot. After a hugely successful 9-year stint, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool parted ways, and the Liverpool hierarchy choose Slot to be the man to usher Liverpool into a new era.
Liverpool played an exciting brand of football in Slot’s first preseason match, overcoming Real Betis by a scoreline of 2-0. Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott played a key role in Liverpool’s victory. However, the Gunners will present a completely different task for Slot’s men.
New Liverpool coach would like to lay down a marker with a win over Arsenal. However, he would make do with the absence of several key players. As many as 14 Liverpool players were involved in the latter stages of the Euros or the Copa America, majority of whom haven’t joined the squad back.
Key players like Allison, Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez are all on vacation. Slot will also miss the services of Curtis Jones, as he picked up a knock during Liverpool’s friendly against Betis.
Like Liverpool, Arsenal will also miss the services of several key players. Key starters like Declan Rice, Gabriel, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka and David Raya won’t be a part of Arsenal’s preseason tour.
However, this presents an opportunity for talented youngsters like Ethan Nwaneri, Lucas Martin and Myles Lewis-Skelly. 17-year-old Nwaneri has already made an impact, starting in Arsenal’s both preseason games. With a long and arduous season ahead, who knows when Arteta calls upon Nwaneri to make a difference.
Liverpool and Arsenal have faced each other 242 times, with Liverpool winning around 95 matches and Arsenal about 83, while drawing roughly 64. Recent Premier League encounters have seen Liverpool dominate, including a 2-0 victory in 2024.
However, in their last five match ups, Arsenal holds the upper hand winning two games, drawing 2 and losing just once. The Gunners came out on top by a scoreline of 3-1 in their most recent match against the Reds.
The game is scheduled to take place on 1st August 2024 (Thursday). The match will kick off at 5:00 AM (Indian Standard Time).
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