BBC pundit’s prediction should serve as perfect motivation for Liverpool ahead of Arsenal clash
Liverpool face what appears to be one of their most daunting tasks of the season when they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Premier League leaders Arsenal on Thursday night.
While the Gunners have been buoyed by extending their advantage over Manchester City to six points in the past week, the Reds have begun 2026 with frustrating draws against Leeds and Fulham, halting the momentum which had gradually been building throughout December.
Whereas Mikel Arteta’s side are dreaming of succeeding their opponents as champions of England, John Aldridge reluctantly acknowledged that the Merseysiders are realistically now fighting to finish in the top four and ensure that they’re in next season’s Champions League.
Chris Sutton gives Arsenal v Liverpool prediction
BBC Sport columnist Chris Sutton has given his predictions for the midweek Premier League fixtures, and he’s forecast a comfortable 2-0 victory for Arsenal over Liverpool.
The ex-Blackburn and Chelsea striker observed: ‘The Gunners should go for it, because they are on a different level to Liverpool, and they may as well be in a different league.
‘No-one thinks Slot’s side are going to win the Premier League anymore, even though they are fourth, and they don’t look capable of flexing their muscles and going on a long winning run, either.
‘That is not going to happen. This is a bang-average Liverpool team this season, and Arsenal should be able to exploit all of their weaknesses.
‘It should be pretty comfortable for the league leaders too. They are carrying Viktor Gyokeres a bit, because he has just not fired for them up front, but it does not seem to matter; they are winning anyway.’
Liverpool can use rare underdog tag to their advantage
In a way, Arne Slot may privately be thanking Sutton for those comments. The old adage about printing it off and pinning it on the dressing room door to serve as added motivational fuel springs to mind.
The form book and the teams’ respective fortunes this season make Arsenal objectively the favourites, for sure, and it’s rare for Liverpool to go into a Premier League fixture as (externally at least) such distinct underdogs.
However, that’s a situation they can use to their advantage, as there’ll be considerable pressure on the Gunners to take the initiative (something they certainly didn’t do at Anfield in the reverse fixture in August). Also, if Manchester City and Aston Villa both win 24 hours prior, Arteta’s team will be compelled to respond in kind on Thursday.
It isn’t just in psychological terms that opportunity may knock for the Reds. The onus will be on the Arsenal boss to go for the win, especially at home, and that could give Slot’s team more space in which to attack than facing the kind of low-block defence that Leeds and Fulham deployed.
In any case, it’s not a fixture which should hold any great fear for Liverpool. Even in this troubled season, we’ve still managed to beat the Gunners, Villa, Real Madrid and Inter Milan (all in the top three in Europe’s four strongest leagues) without conceding a goal in any of those games.
The reigning champions still have the quality to rise to the biggest of challenges, and while it’d probably take our best performance of the season to do the double on Arteta’s side, the Merseysiders must believe that they’re good enough to confound the doubters on Thursday and throw the title race wide open again for the chasing pack.
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