There is only one Premier League game on Sunday, and it is the one everybody wants to see. Liverpool host Arsenal at 16:30 GMT, with the champions arriving bruised by a cup exit and the home side arriving on a run of five straight wins. For a fixture played this early in the season, it carries unusual weight.
Liverpool arrive with momentum and questions
Andoni Iraola's team beat Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw, their fifth win in a row in all competitions, and they have now beaten Chelsea in five consecutive shootouts. The league picture is less tidy. Liverpool are fourth on 15 points from eight games, with four wins, three draws and a defeat, and a win on Sunday would leave them three points behind Arsenal.
The mood around Anfield is good. Virgil van Dijk has talked about feeling the energy from the supporters, and the way the side has been playing has clearly landed with them. Rotation has also worked in Liverpool's favour. Iraola made seven changes against Chelsea and still won, which means the first-team players come into this game with fresher legs than their opponents might like.
Arsenal's injury list is growing
Mikel Arteta's side are second, level on 21 points with Manchester City and behind them only on goal difference. They have won seven of eight league games, but the week has gone badly. Fleetwood Town, from League Two, knocked them out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, and Max Dowman was sent off in the 85th minute. His appeal has failed and he will miss this game and two more.
Dowman's absence matters because Arsenal have almost nobody else on the flanks. Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke are all injured, and that leaves Arteta looking for width from players who are not natural wingers. Anfield is a hard place to improvise, and Liverpool's recent form suggests they will press the gaps.
Where the game will be won
If Arsenal cannot stretch the pitch, the contest will be decided in the middle and at set pieces, where they are usually strong. Liverpool's best route is through the pressing game that has produced their winning run, with Van Dijk and the back line trying to keep the champions' forwards away from comfortable positions. Alisson, meanwhile, stays on Merseyside this month after Carlo Ancelotti left him out of Brazil's friendlies, so there are no distractions for the goalkeeper.
It is a hard game to call. Arsenal's quality is not in doubt, and neither is the fact that their selection is compromised. Liverpool are better than their league position suggests and the home crowd will be loud. Our prediction is a 1-1 draw, with Arsenal edging possession and Liverpool creating the better chances.
Fixture facts: Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League, Sunday 1 November, 16:30 GMT at Anfield. Liverpool are fourth on 15 points from eight games and Arsenal second on 21. Arsenal are without Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis, Noni Madueke and the suspended Max Dowman.
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