MX23RW : Tuesday, January 1 11:52:01

Combined XI: Liverpool vs. Arsenal

Ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal, Sports Mole selects a strongest combined XI from the two squads.

The final round of Premier League matches in 2018 contains a top-five battle on Saturday as unbeaten league leaders Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield.

Results have fallen very kindly for Jurgen Klopp's side over the Christmas period, leaving them six points clear at the top of the table halfway through the season.

However, Arsenal are one of only three teams they have failed to beat so far this season and the Gunners will be looking to bounce back from a run of just one win in four games.

Here, Sports Mole selects its strongest combined XI from both squads, using only players available for this weekend's match.



Combined XI: LIV vs. ARS

Liverpool boast the best defensive record after 19 games of any top-flight season in English football history, so they have to dominate the defence in this team too considering Arsenal have shipped 25 goals to Liverpool's seven.

Alisson Becker is an easy choice in goal ahead of Bernd Leno, while Arsenal's injury problems in defence also make choosing the back four even easier. Hector Bellerin, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding remain sidelined, while Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal are doubtful.

Trent Alexander-Arnold returned from his own injury absence against Newcastle United in midweek - a match which saw Dejan Lovren score the opener. Lovren's place in this team is perhaps the most at risk with Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathopoulos providing competition, but he is beginning to shed his error-prone reputation this season.

Much of that could be down to the commanding presence of Virgil van Dijk alongside him, with his displays this season leading to some proclaiming him the best defender in the world, while Andrew Robertson continues to go from strength to strength at left-back.

Arsenal's first representative comes in midfield as Lucas Torreira earns a place, although there is plenty of competition from both sides in that area of the field. Granit Xhaka has improved this season while Matteo Guendouzi has also made a positive start to life in North London.

Any of Liverpool's midfielders - James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum or Naby Keita - could easily slot into this team, but purely on recent form we have opted for Fabinho, who has really settled at Anfield now and registered his first goal for the club against Newcastle on Boxing Day.

Liverpool dominate the forward positions too with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all making the team, although the latter features on the right this time rather than his newer position leading the line.

Salah's relocation is down to the presence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front, meaning that the league's top two goalscorers feature in this XI. The likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette were all in contention for the front four positions, but the level of quality was just too high for them to get into this team.

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Who will win Saturday's Premier League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal?

Liverpool
Draw
Arsenal
Liverpool
73.7%
Draw
7.2%
Arsenal
19.1%
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates scoring against Burnley on December 22, 2018
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Premier League
Championship
League One
League Two
National League
Welsh Premier League
NIFL Premiership
Australian A-League
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool2017304884054
2Manchester CityMan City20152354163847
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs20150543212245
4Chelsea20134338162243
5Arsenal20115442301238
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd2010554132935
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves208572323029
8Leicester CityLeicester208482423128
9Watford208482728-128
10Everton207673130127
11West Ham UnitedWest Ham208392730-327
12Bournemouth2082102837-926
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton207492227-525
14Crystal Palace2054111726-919
15Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2046101527-1218
16Cardiff CityCardiff2053121938-1918
17Southampton2036112138-1715
18Burnley2043131941-2215
19Fulham2035121843-2514
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2024141235-2310

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