EFL Cup Semi-Final: Arsenal Vs Liverpool Match Preview And Prediction For Thursday 20th Of January 2022

The Emirates Stadium is the venue for the second leg of Arsenal and Liverpool’s EFL Cup semi-final as the two sides prepare to face off again on Thursday.

The first leg endless goalless at Anfield, despite Liverpool finishing the game with 79% possession and 17 shots to their name.  Fifth-place Arsenal trail second-place Liverpool by ten points in the Premier League table, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to the semi-finals of the ELF Cup.

Arsenal haven’t played since the first leg as Sunday’s scheduled North London Derby was postponed at their request. Arsenal have only lost one of their previous five Premier League ties, picking up four straight wins before losing to Manchester City on New Year’s Day.

In the EFL Cup, Arteta’s men saw off West Brom and Leeds in the early rounds before thrashing Sunderland 5-1 in the quarter-finals. The Gunners have lost just one of their last eight EFL Cup games, meaning they will fancy their chances of frustrating Liverpool.

Liverpool head into Thursday’s clash on the back of an easy 3-0 victory over Brentford in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s team have lost only one of their previous ten league matches, securing seven wins and two draws in the process.

When it comes to the EFL Cup, the Merseysiders have won each of their past six encounters in this competition.  Liverpool got the better of Norwich and Preston before edging out Leicester on penalties in the previous round.

Head-to-head: Liverpool are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten streak against Arsenal, having picked up three wins and three draws since their last loss in this fixture. When you look at the bigger picture, the Gunners have only managed to win one of their past 17 clashes with the Reds in all competitions.

Team News: Granit Xhaka will miss the second leg through suspension. Arsenal have many more absentees due to COVID and AFCON, including Thomas Partey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

As for Liverpool, they are without AFCON trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita at the moment. Thiago and Harvey Elliot remain sidelined due to injury.

PREDICTION: I FANCY ARSENAL TO QUALIFY.