Premier League 
/ Michael Cox / 02 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Theo Walcott has caused Liverpool problems in the past
"Considering that Walcott likes to move infield into an inside-right position, he’ll be licking his lips at the prospect of Jamie Carragher deputising for Daniel Agger"
It's difficult to predict the starting line-ups for this game, but that means a potentially exciting tactical battle, says Michael Cox
Liverpool v Arsenal, Saturday 12:45, Sky Sports 2.
Match odds: Liverpool [2.08], Arsenal [4.0], The Draw [3.6].
The reverse league meeting between these two sides seems an age ago - Samir Nasri was one of Arsenal's better players, Raul Meireles came on for Liverpool to help get the breakthrough, while Emmanuel Frimpong's red card gave Liverpool the initiative. None of those players will be involved this weekend.
This match is a battle between two sides with slightly uncertain levels of confidence. In simple terms both are coming off the back of important wins last weekend - Liverpool in the Carling Cup final, and Arsenal in the North London derby. But dig a little deeper, and you find that Liverpool's performance wasn't particularly impressive, while Arsenal went 2-0 down after being exposed at the back early on. Taking the last few weeks as a barometer, neither are playing as well as would be expected.
Let's consider Arsenal's shape first, since they are the side that keeps more of a consistent formation and starting line-up. They will play their usual 4-3-3 shape, and after the ultimately positive performance against Tottenham, Arsene Wenger will want to keep things roughly the same here, which will mean Theo Walcott on the right and Yossi Benayoun coming inside from the left.
There are significant injury worries, however. Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky would be battling for the same midfield place, but Ramsey is out while Rosicky faces a late fitness test. If both those two are unavailable, it would probably mean Yossi Benayoun being fielded in the centre, with either Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho wide left - that would significantly alter the shape of the side.
Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen are also slight doubts after their international fixtures in midweek, but both should start.
Kenny Dalglish's teams are more difficult to predict, but I think he'll go for more of a 4-3-3 than a 4-4-2 here, to compete with Arsenal in the centre of midfield. Jay Spearing could get a start with instructions to pick up Arsenal's most attacking midfield, with Steven Gerrard (if fit, or Jordan Henderson if not) and Charlie Adam ahead. Those two didn't deal well with Cardiff's threat between the lines last week, so Dalglish might want that extra holding player to protect the defence.
Upfront, Dirk Kuyt will hope for a start on the right after his goal last weekend, while Stewart Downing also had a good game. Those two could flank Luis Suarez, with Andy Carroll a plan B and Craig Bellamy rested after playing for Wales less than three days previously.
So, after a rough estimate of the starting line-ups, where will the key battles be? One of the more certain clashes is Theo Walcott up against Jose Enrique in Liverpool's left-back zone. In the previous meeting between the two at the Emirates, the Spaniard stopped Walcott very effectively, partly by playing deep, and partly because he was confident at not being significantly slower when forced to turn and run. But his form has dipped slightly in the past few weeks, and with Walcott high on confidence after his two goals against Spurs, he'll be a dangerous option here.
Considering that Walcott likes to move infield into an inside-right position, he'll also be licking his lips at the prospect of Jamie Carragher deputising for Daniel Agger in Liverpool's left-sided centre-back position. With this in mind, Walcott is a decent bet to open the scoring at around [13.0].
The corners market will also be interesting, because of the uncertainty in the identity of wide players. Liverpool have sometimes fielded 'inverted' wingers this season, with the likes of Craig Bellamy and Stewart Downing coming infield onto their stronger foot. If that happens here, I'd question Liverpool's current odds-on price in 'Corners Match Bet', so will lay Liverpool in that market at [1.7].
Recommended bets:
Back Theo Walcott to score first at [13.0]
Lay Liverpool in Corners Match Bet at [1.7]
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