England Round 26

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Liverpool vs Luton Town Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wataru Endo, Elliott, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Luiz Diaz

Luton Town:
Kaminski; Bell, Osho, Mengi; Ogbene, Barkley, Lokonga, Doughty; Townsend, Chong; Morris

Liverpool will welcome Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday night. The Reds are leaders on the table with 57 points, but Manchester City and Arsenal are waiting for mistake. That is why Klopp's men must remain fully focused in the remaining 13 rounds. Liverpool are fighting for four trophies with the League Cup final against Chelsea coming up on Sunday. To be worse, Robertson and Salah have just recover and they are not 100 percent ready. The Reds are in good form, they beat Brentford 4:1 for the weekend. Darwin Nunez opened the result with a superb goal, while Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo netted the remaining three. But not everything was good in that match. Forward Diogo Jota and midfielder Curtis Jones are the latest injury victims. Jota was carried off the pitch and will be out in the next period. Klopp also lost Curtis Jones to injury in the first half. In-form striker Darwin Nunez had to be replaced at halftime due to foot injury. That's not all as first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker was injured on Friday in training. With Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip (he's out for the season) missing through injury too, that's basically half of Liverpool's starting lineup who are now unavailable. That's a huge handicap in the crucial part of the season.

Luton Town are on the 18th place with 20 points. They are deeply involved into the relegation battle and the situation looks very complicated. Manager Rob Edwards is under big pressure, as well as the players. The Hatters are in series of two defeats in the Premier League. They suffered a narrow 2:1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday and this result could be swallowed. What was very painful, Luton Town lost 3:1 to Sheffield United previously. These two defeats came after very successful period when the Hatters beat 4:0 Brighton and played a 4:4 draw with Newcastle at St James Park. Scoring eight goals on two matches against respectable opponents is certainly a great achievement. But Edwards has some issues in front of this visit. The club leading scorer Elijah Adebayo suffered a hamstring injury during the warm-up on Sunday and that's a big handicap. Most probably he will be replaced by Cauley Woodrow. Mads Andersen and Marvelous Nakamba are also sidelined, while captain Tom Lockyer has conceded that he is unsure if he will ever play competitively again following his second distressing collapse. January signing Daiki Hashioka is questionable and may not be considered for his debut at Anfield.

Liverpool vs Luton Town Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at Anfield. Liverpool are leaders on the table and so far the Reds have scored on all but one league game. Manchester United are the only team that prevented Liverpool from scoring this season. I don't think Luton Town could repeat that. I am aware that many important players are injured, but the club leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah has recovered and the Egypt international already scored against Brentford during the weekend. Luton Town, meanwhile, had poor results in the last period, but they managed to find the back of the net on each of the last twelve matches in the Premiership. The absence of Adebayo is a big handicap, but I think they could score considering the Reds are yet to register a clean sheet at Anfield in 2024.

Liverpool vs Luton Town Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.82 with Pinnacle

 

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Arsenal vs Newcastle United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Rice, Jorginho; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Newcastle United:
Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Gordon, Barnes

Arsenal will welcome Newcastle United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night as both teams are looking for important three points. The Gunners suffered a 1:0 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League affair with Porto on Wednesday evening, The defeat was painful, however, there will be another match in London, so nothing is decided yet. The domestic form is excellent, Arteta's side are in series of five victories in the Premier League. They managed to beat Crystal Palace, Nottingham, Liverpool, West Ham and Burnley, scoring 21 goals in the process. The players confidence is very high, particularly of the strikers. The Gunners are third on the table, five points adrift of the leaders Liverpool. Arteta has the key players available, but Thomas Partey - who returned to team training following a thigh operation - remain sidelined. Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all recovering and didn't play against Porto. Most probably this match is coming too soon for them. Jurrien Timber is long-term injury victim. Some changes are possible, particularly in the midfield, with Jorginho and Emile Smith Rowe ready to provide fresh legs.

Newcastle were fantastic last season and they played in the group stage of the Champions League. But this season is nowhere near the previous. The Magpies are in the middle of the table with 37 points, big 12 away from the Champions League zone. It will be a miracle if they finished fourth. The current form isn't at desired level, they have just two victories on the last eight league matches, with two draws and four defeats. But something else is important for my pick - the last seven matches were efficient. At least four goals were scored on each of them. In addition, Edie Howe's men have netted in all seven games, but at the same time failed to keep clean sheet on any of them. Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was awful against Bournemouth, but Howe has no better option. Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall will try to improve the defense, but now have some attacking worries. Callum Wilson will be sidelined for at least 12 weeks due to a pectoral problem, while Alexander Isak is rated as doubtful with a groin injury. The former Arsenal man Joe Willock is also doubtful with a calf problem. Nick Pope, Matt Targett, Joelinton and Elliot Anderson remain out injured, while Sandro Tonali remain suspended due to illegal betting activities.

Arsenal vs Newcastle United Prediction:

I expect both teams to score at the Emirates. Arsenal managed to beat Crystal Palace, Nottingham, Liverpool, West Ham and Burnley, scoring 21 goals in the process. The players confidence is very high and they will go for the victory. Newcastle, meanwhile, played efficient matches lately. The Magpies managed to score on each of the last seven games, but at the same time failed to keep clean sheet on any of them. There should be goals on both sides.

Arsenal vs Newcastle United Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.72 with Pinnacle