Liverpool are currently off the pace in league positioning while Arsenal remain top with manager Arsene Wenger looking to win his fourth Premier League title going into Wednesday night's crunch clash.
The Merseyside club sit in eighth place at the moment, 12 points behind the first-placed Gunners, with the race for the title beginning to heat up.
Arsenal will be heading into the clash as favourites as the North London side are in red hot form at the moment, winning four of their last five games with that one blip at Southampton, a 4-0 thrashing away from home, the only blot on their copybook.
Liverpool however, boast a rather lamentable record of three losses and just two wins in their last six league fixtures, both which ended up 1-0 - so they'll be looking for an improvement against their opponents despite being hampered by injuries.
Offensive Analysis
Arsenal possess a major threat in the final third having scored 34 goals from 20 games with only Leicester City (37) and Manchester City (39) scoring more. Frenchman Olivier Giroud must recieve major plaudits for his involement as the striker has racked up 10 goals in the Premier League this season already whereas Liverpool fare a lot worse when it comes to scoring goals. The Merseyside club have only hit 22 goals this season, their highest scorer Christian Benteke managing just six goals.
Arsenal have looked at their weakest offensively on a number of occasions this season most notably against Liverpool in August as both sides settled for a 0-0 draw with the Reds unlucky not to come away with a win after taking the game to Wenger's men from the early stages. Phillipe Coutinho came the closest to breaking the deadlock when he struck the underside of the crossbar very early on, whilst Arsenal very rarely troubled Mignolet on that evening.
Nevertheless, Arsenal will be keen to ensure they pick holes in a injury-stricken Liverpool defence and with the talents at their disposal, they can do just that.
Defensive Analysis
The main issue defensively for Liverpool is that there are few available senior defenders ready to play. Liverpool are currently without Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel, whilst Mamadou Sakho and former Arsenal man Kolo Touré are fighting for full fitness. Jürgen Klopp is likely to plan Touré from the start after his fighting performance in the win at Stoke City in the Capital One Cup, though Sakho may not be able to play the full 90 minutes, meaning one of Tiago Ilori, Lucas Leiva or Emre Can could take up a central defensive role. The Liverpool boss has faced a nightmare couple of months with injuries at Anfield and with Arsenal expected to play an extremely attacking formation, his nightmare may not be over yet.
Arsenal are only missing a few key men at the back, with defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin unavailable. Their back four boasts one of the most impressive defensive records in the league as they have conceded just 18 goals this season, so his absence may not matter as much as expected. The signing of Petr Cech could prove to be one of the signings of the season as the Arsenal number one has pulled off many fantastic saves to keep the North London side at the top of the table and he will be between the sticks to help ensure they hold the Reds out.
The centre-back partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny is proving to be one of the most formidable partnerships in the Premier League. Out of their past five starts together they have kept four clean sheets, winning all five matches. Arsenal have still however looked weak defensively a few times this season. Theww fixtures stick out massively, a 5-1 thumping at the hands of German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League and a 3-0 cup upset at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday, as well as the aforementioned defeat at Southampton. Both defenders were absent from the 0-0 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium back in August.
Of the eight goals that were conceded over the two matches, six goals came from crosses or deliveries into the box which could play to Liverpool's strengths providing Christian Benteke is in form and Liverpool deliver crosses to the Belgian - something they have not done enough of recently.
Injury Issues
Liverpool are currently nursing several wounds with 13 players ruled out with injury. Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Divock Origi and Jordon Ibe (all hamstring) are set to miss out with Benteke as the only recognised striker in the line up. Injuries at the back are no better for Liverpool, with Loven and Skrtel both missing through hamstring injuries. Sakho is nursing a knee injury suffered before Christmas, though Kolo Touré should be available.
Arsenal are without key players as Santi Cazorla (Lateral ligament tear), Danny Welbeck (Bruised bone) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) all remain unavailable for the fixture. Chile international Alexis Sanchez is still suffering a hamstring injury which will rule him out.
Three to Watch
Much of Arsenal's flair this season can be placed on the shoulders of Mesut Özil. The German World Cup winner is already one of the early favourites to win the Player of the Year award at the end of the season and has been a revelation this season. The midfielder has registered 16 assists, twice as many as other player in the top-flight as he consistently impresses for his side.
Striker Olivier Giroud is another who could play a key part on Wednesday. A handful for any Premier League centre-back, Giroud will be keen to ensure Lovren, Skrtel and maybe even Sakho are all missed. He could potentially have a field day against an unexperienced pairing at the back for the Reds, having scored in this same meeting at Anfield last season.
Goalkeeper Cech is also one to watch out. He has been one of the top goalkeepers this season with a total of nine clean sheets, more than any other goalkeeper. With Liverpool likely to only field one striker it could be that the former Chelsea man will be given an easy night but regardless the former four-time Premier League winner will be hard to beat if he maintains his superb recent form.