I just don't know how Southampton pick themselves up from last week's defeat by Leicester, and there is only one outcome here.

It will be a rearguard action from the off by Saints - but they will end up losing. It is a question of how long they can hold out for, and then how many goals Manchester City will score.

In the Fantasy Premier League community, everyone is talking about triple captaining Erling Haaland, because he has not scored in his past three league games.

I'm saying Haaland will not score this week either, but City will score four and keep a clean sheet for the first time in the Premier League since their opening game of the season. They have to stop conceding eventually, surely.

Sutton's prediction: 4-0

Nemzzz's prediction: As much as I am with United, City are just so hard to stop. 3-1

Image source, Reuters

Manchester City

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is now speaking to the media and has confirmed that Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker remain out for Saturday's game.

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta is out on the grass, facilitating his squad's training session ahead of Sunday's game against Liverpool.

Bukayo Saka, who has missed the last two games, is not present and neither is Riccardo Calafiori or Jurrien Timber.

In better news for the Gunners, Ben White is taking part. I am sure there will be plenty of questions for Arteta on the fitness of his squad when he faces the media at 13:30 BST.

Liverpool are not helped by having to travel back from RB Leipzig on Wednesday, but Arsenal have bigger problems.

Without Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, they were unconvincing in front of goal against Shakhtar Donetsk. Gabriel Jesus does so many good things for the team, but you would never back him to finish.

So I am basing this prediction on a combination of what I saw against Shakhtar - because Arsenal were really flat all round - all their injury doubts and William Saliba’s absence.

If Saliba was playing, I wouldn’t be predicting a Liverpool win, but if Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are not fit, I don’t feel Arsenal have adequate cover.

This would be a huge win for Liverpool, and everyone is saying that, with the run of tough games they have coming up, we will find out more about them soon.

But they have beaten Chelsea and have enough nous and knowledge in their team to keep their good run going.

I know everyone reading this will go for a 1-1 draw, but I don't like to sit on the fence for big games like this, and neither should you.

Nemzzz's prediction: I don't like either of these teams. I want to say Arsenal will win but Liverpool are top and playing really well. 2-3

Sutton's reaction: He has had a shocker there. I can sleep well in the knowledge that if I need the points from this game, there will not be five goals at the Emirates. 0-1

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter

Arsenal take on Liverpool on Sunday in one of the biggest matches of the season so far.

The game comes at a bad time for the Gunners as they are currently dealing with a number of issues to key players.

Riccardo Calafiori limped off in the game against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and is another of the issues that Mikel Arteta will have to deal with.

Arsenal are already without William Saliba, who will miss the game through suspension after being sent off against Bournemouth, while Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are all injured.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is available but he has only played 10 minutes of Premier League football and academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly was brought on ahead of him at left-back in midweek. The prospect of Zinchenko coming in to face Mohamed Salah is daunting one.

Jakub Kiwior could come into the backline and Ben White could play at centre-back next to Gabriel, but having such an unsettled backline could be problematic against Liverpool, who are top of the table under new boss Arne Slot.

Arteta will provide fitness updates on Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard at his news conference but the prospect of having five potential starters ruled out for the game is far from ideal.

Jukebox Jack on X: Everyone talking about Liverpool playing Arsenal away with Saliba and Odegaard out, but Jota and Alisson, as good as their respective replacements can be, are HUGE losses for Liverpool. Jota a big game player who scores goals, Alisson a big game player who saves them!

Settle in, we've got plenty more to bring you over the next few hours.

We've heard from Arne Slot on that huge clash at Arsenal. We'll bring you his opposite number, Mikel Arteta's thoughts after 13:30 (BST).

Before that though, Pep Guardiola is speaking to the media at 12:30 (BST). Any positive news on Kevin de Bruyne's return to action? And is Matheus Nunes in line for a start after claiming two assists and scoring a penalty in the Champions League this week?

That and plenty more, with Lopetegui, O'Neil, Frank, Glasner and Emery also on the bill.

Getting the vibe that Liverpool fans are confident; Arsenal fans not so much.

Tottenham Hotspur

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Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou on James Maddison saying Mikey Moore was like Neymar during their 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar: "I think we all understand with young players, you have to be careful, but after the game, I don't get the sense that that's going to affect Mikey at all. There's no denying he was great last night, I thought he was great the whole game, especially that period. It's exciting for us."

On Moore starting a Premier League game: "He's ready to start any game. I just feel, especially with younger players, you've got to be really careful about their introduction into senior football. He's still physically growing. You have to take that into account so I think he's ready to play, to start a Premier League game, for sure. But for me it's about making sure, for us, that we develop Mikey in the right way and so far whatever we've asked from him, he's made a good impact."

Image source, Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou on James Maddison: "He was part of a winning team over the weekend too. I thought he played well in the first half [against AZ Alkmaar]. It was a tactical change, I thought it was needed for the team to win, but I understand the players want to play all the time.

"I thought he was really good last night. I thought his leadership throughout the game was good. He was really positive on the ball and when we needed moments of creativity or discipline, he was there."

Stephen Warnock
Former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender

I tipped Liverpool to finish second in the Premier League. I thought the squad that they had last season, you don’t stay in a title race till a month to go and not have quality. I felt they dropped off because of their style of play and the way that Jurgen Klopp wants to play. I thought the team looked absolutely dead on their feet at times towards the end of the season.

Then I looked at the pre-season games Liverpool played and the style of football, I thought it was more pragmatic, I thought it was slower, that the players would have more energy throughout the game. I think they’ll taper the training to make sure that, with this new Champions League system and the rigours of the Premier League, the players aren’t burning themselves out.

It’s an interesting one because you look at Rodri being injured and how much of an impact that will have on Manchester City, how tough it might be for them to find a replacement in that midfield area, because he does so much work in the big games. I still think City will win the league, but I think Liverpool will push them very close.

It’s been an incredible start for Arne Slot. He’s just come in and made adjustments but clever players adjust very quickly. He’s got a pool of world-class players so it shouldn’t be too surprising how quickly they have adapted.

The run of games that Liverpool have got coming up from now until Christmas is key to where we’ll see Liverpool at the end of the season.

Image source, Reuters

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou on Richarlison: "He looked good last night. He looked strong, with plenty of energy. He's going to be an important player for us.

"We took a different approach with him, hopefully with a breakdown of the cycle where he comes back for a bit and then breaks down. Credit to him, he's worked hard and he's feeling really good about things. It was great for him to get a goal last night."

Tottenham Hotspur

Now let's hear from Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou on James Maddison letting Richarlison take the penalty in Thursday's win over AZ Alkmaar: "I was happy with the outcome. We have designated penalty takers but, in the moment, they're both equally good at taking penalties. If he threw the ball to Fraser [Forster] I'd be a bit more worried about it! The important thing was that we scored."

Image source, Reuters

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on the excitement of playing big games: "In the life of a manager, the excitement is for 10 to 15 minutes after the game, so when you're still on the pitch, you walk off it and then you think 'OK, what am I going to say to the players next?' and then you go to the press conference and then your focus is on the next game. It is a nice fixture to be in that's clear but there are many nice fixtures to be in and Arsenal away is one of them."

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Stephen Warnock
Former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender

It’s a huge game but Liverpool are helped in the fact that Arsenal are missing William Saliba and it looks like they won’t have Martin Odegaard. Maybe Bukayo Saka will be fit but he won’t be 100%, and Riccardo Calafiori’s a doubt.

So for Liverpool there’s no better time to play Arsenal. But you’ve got to take advantage of that, you’ve got to make sure you go there and do well.

Liverpool

Earlier, we mentioned how Sunday will see two of the league's best defences up against each other, although Arsenal are without the suspended William Saliba.

Arsenal have conceded, on average, a goal a game. Liverpool, though, have conceded just three in their eight games. So what has Slot had to say on his side's strength at the back?

"Most games, we dominated and controlled for large parts, so that helps if you have the ball but I also like if we have difficult parts of the game then the work rate is incredible not to concede. If you combine that with Virgil and Ibou and the two goalkeepers we've used, these elements are why we haven't conceded so much. Quansah and Gomez too we are in a good place with centre-backs."

Tottenham Hotspur

Image source, Getty Images

Before we delve into some more interesting quotes from Arne Slot, the Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has given an update on captain Heung-min Son.

"Sonny's still not right, still not feeling 100%. He won't train today, so he's unlikely for this weekend and we'll see after that."

On the team: "In terms of last night [1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar], we're all good, no issues, a bit of fatigue for some of the guys where they've not played for a while."

These are the results from the past two seasons between the two clubs:

2023-24:

• 04/02/24: Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
• 07/01/24: Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool (FA Cup)
• 23/12/23: Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)

2022-23:

• 09/04/23: Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
• 09/10/22: Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool (Premier League)

The last time Liverpool beat Arsenal in the league? March, 2022.