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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 30
Liverpool v Arsenal
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Sunday, 9 April 2023
Kick-off is at 17h30
Arsenal will attempt to take another step towards winning their first
Premier League title since 2003-04 when they visit Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, April 9.
The Gunners have been superb this season, winning 23 of their opening 29 games to open up an eight-point lead over defending champions Manchester City at the summit.
Mikel Arteta's side have lost just three times and a 4-1 victory over Leeds at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday extended their winning streak to seven matches since City triumphed 3-1 in London on February 15.
The championship is effectively a two-horse race after Manchester United dropped points for the third game in succession when they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle last Sunday.
The Magpies overtook United into third place on goal difference, with both teams tied on 50 points, 14 adrift of the Citizens and a staggering 22 behind the league leaders.
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The Reds' top-four challenge suffered another damaging blow after going down 4-1 to City last weekend, which followed on from a disappointing 1-0 loss to Bournemouth prior to the international break.
Jurgen Klopp's team had given themselves hope when they embarked on a five-match unbeaten run between February 18 and March 5 but the latest setback sees them eight points shy of the UEFA Champions League places in eighth spot.
The table is closely packed from positions six to 11, with Brighton (6th) and Brentford (7th) just a point ahead of the Merseysiders (42), while Aston Villa (9th on 41), Fulham (10th on 39) and Chelsea (11th on 38) are breathing down their necks.
Mohamed Salah broke another Liverpool record when he surpassed Michael Owen's tally of 55 away goals with his strike against the Citizens. After getting off to a slow start this season, the Egyptian star found his scoring touch, bagging 12 goals in 27 appearances to emerge as one of the few shining lights in a gloomy campaign for the Reds.
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Gabriel Jesus hasn't taken long to get back amongst the goals following his return from a knee injury that kept him on the sidelines for four months. The Brazilian striker bagged a brace on his first start against Leeds since making a comeback to take his tally for the season to seven goals, along with six assists.
In team news, Naby Keita picked up an injury while on international duty with Guinea and he joins Calvin Ramsay, Luis Diaz (both knee), Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara (both groin) on the treatment table for the hosts. Arteta remains without Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mohamed Elneny (both knee), Eddie Nketiah (ankle) and William Saliba (back).
Klopp is demanding more consistency from his players and admits there have been too many times this season where they have gone behind in matches to make things harder for them.
"We should play better, especially more consistently. Being good while you're feeling good is OK, but not being good when you don't feel 100 per cent is obviously not possible in the Premier League," the German said.
"That's what happens in the moment; we spoke about it in the press conference yesterday (Friday). Being 1-0 down this year changed pretty much everything for us. I don't like to mention these things, but I cannot ignore it as well."
Arteta revealed he is dealing with the nerves in the camp by approaching the title race on a day-to-day basis so that his players are in the right frame of mind on matchdays.
"Just enjoy the moment that we are in," the Spaniard said. "We have nine games to go but [on Monday] we have a training session that is going to enable us to be better as a team, and if we go through the journey day by day, when the game comes we are in a state of mind and you are really looking forward to it.
"You have oxygen to grab instead of gasping, and we just want that energy and belief. We go to the next target and we go for it."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 4
Arsenal - 1
Draws - 0
Matchday 30 fixtures:
Saturday, April 8
13h30: Manchester United v Everton
16h00: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
16h00: Brentford v Newcastle United
16h00: Fulham v West Ham United
16h00: Leicester City v Bournemouth
16h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton & Hove Albion
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea
18h30: Southampton v Manchester City
Sunday, April 9
15h00: Leeds United v Crystal Palace
17h30: Liverpool v Arsenal
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