Liverpool vs Arsenal Preview & Live Score: EPL 2010-11

English Premier League fans are now excited as two ‘Big Four’ clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal, are taking on each other in their opening match of the new season on 15 August 2010 at Anfield in Liverpool. Both sides are gearing up to present a weekend special to their fans.

Live Score

Fans can get the live updates of the match at the following link:

http://www.soccerstand.com/

Football fans can expect a highly entertaining match with both sides looking to get off to a winning start to the new season in Premier League. Liverpool has failed to live up to the expectation last season as they finished seventh in the league and lost their Champions League place.

So, retaining the Champions League spot seems to be Liverpool’s priority this season under new manager Roy Hodgson. The Reds are confident after their back-to-back victories over Rabotnicki in Europa Cup recently.

It is true that Liverpool has lost the players like Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera this summer, and Javier Masceranho is on the verge of leaving, but a number of last season’s fringe players like David Ngog have shown excellent progress in the pre-season and Liverpool could benefit from them this season. More importantly, Hodgson has given a psychological edge to the Reds by keeping hold on to the star players like captain Gerrard and Spanish striker Torres.

Arsenal would not be lack of confidence either. The Gunners did not lose any of their-pre-season encounters and successfully defended the Emirates Cup title. Moreover, Arsenal players would be inspired from their 2-1 victory in last season’s corresponding fixture.

However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has few worries ahead of the visit to the Merseyside club. First of all, two key players, captain Cesc Fabregas and striker Robin van Persie, are uncertain to start due to their lack of match fitness. Both the players enjoyed an extended vacation following their exhausting international duties at the World Cup.

Moreover, striker Nicklas Bendtner and young midfielder Aaron Ramsey are currently out of action with their respective injuries. Abou Diaby and Andrey Arshavin are also doubtful with their minor injury problems, but Wenger is hopeful that both the players would be available for the Liverpool showdown.

Arsenal manager would have to choose between Manuel Almunia and Łukasz Fabiański for the goalkeeping position. Almunia seems to be the most likely starter, but given the howlers both the keepers committed last season, it is less likely that their presence would provide confidence to the defense.

Liverpool would most probably miss Fernando Torres due to his groin strain and Ngog is expected to continue his job as the front man. Both teams are expected to feature their summer signings in the game.

Joe Cole would surely have his Premier League debut in Liverpool shirt, while Arsenal would feature Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny. However, it is not sure if Milan Jovanovic and Christian Poulsen would have their Premier League debut with Liverpool.