Liverpool’s opponents for the 2020 Community Shield have been confirmed, and it is Arsenal, who booked their spot against the Reds after beating fellow North London outfit Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup final.

The Community Shield pits the reigning Premier League champions (LFC in this case) against the FA Cup winners (now Arsenal) and is the traditional curtain raiser to the top-flight season.

The game will take place on August 29, 2020.

This will also be the first Community Shield meeting between the Reds and the Gunners since 2002. AFC prevailed 1-0 on that occasion thanks to a goal from Brazilian medio Gilberto Silva.

The new PL season will officially begin on September 12, 2020.

Liverpool finished Game Week 3 as the only club with a 100% record as they comfortably beat Arsenal 3-1 at Arsenal. A stellar individual performance from Mo Salah, who scored twice, helped the Reds claim a record equalling 12th consecutive Premier League victory in what was also Jordan Henderson’s 100th game as captain.

Arsenal opted to give young Nicolas Pepe his full debut and the young Ivorian had their best chances of the first half- one from an Adrian mistake, another from a counter attack where he shot straight at the Spaniard, and a third from long distance that was off target.

Arsenal’s recent trips to Anfield have been painful, to put it mildly, and all the pundits expected the Reds to pile on the agony. It took them 40 minutes to get off the mark, and the unlikely source of the opener was Joel Matip, who rose ahead of Sokratis to nodd in Alexander-Arnold’s corner.

1-0 four minutes before half time became 2-0 four minutes after it as David Luiz was penalised for tugging Salah’s shirt in the box, and the Egyptian gleefully accepted the resulting penalty, sending Leno the wrong way. Continue reading →

Both Liverpool and Arsenal will look to preserve their 100% league records when they clash at Anfield in Round 3. The referee for this game is Anthony Taylor- LFC lost 4-1 when he was last in charge of this fixture.

Let’s take a look and check out pundit predictions for this LFC v Arsenal clash.

Mark Lawrenson: The BBC’s Lawro has gone for a 2-1 win to Liverpool, saying that Arsenal “don’t have any leaders in the team” and struggle defensively.

His celebrity opponent for round 3, rugby league star Stefan Ratchford, has predicted a 2-0 win for the Reds.

Charlie Nicholas: Nicholas from Sky says he’s “dreading this game” as a former Arsenal player, and has backed Liverpool to emerge 3-1 winners.

Stan Collymore and Robbie Savage echo Nicholas’ prediction- two other 3-1’s for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Michael Owen thinks Liverpool will end the weekend as sole leaders. Has backed the Reds to win, but both teams to score, meaning no clean sheet for Adrian this weekend.

Summary: Everyone expects Liverpool to win- no draw or Arsenal win here!

The referee for the Premier League’s blockbuster Match Week 3 Liverpool vs Arsenal clash has been announced, and it’s Anthony Taylor.

Taylor last officiated this fixture back in 2015, which saw the Gunners emerge 4-1 winners over the Reds. Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud scored for Arsenal that day, with Liverpool’s solitary goal coming from midfielder Jordan Henderson.

The London outfit also have a good recent record under Taylor- they did not lose a single game in the 2018/19 season when he was in charge.

Arsenal record in 2018/19 for games refereed by Anthony Taylor

Arsenal 1-1 Brighton (D)
Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle (W)
Spurs 1-1 Arsenal (D)
Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea (W)
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal (D)
Arsenal 2-0 Watford (W)
Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal (W)

Liverpool also have a decent record under Taylor, but two of their rare defeats in recent years (2-1 away to Man City in January 2019 and 1-0 away at Chelsea in May 2018), came with him in charge.

Taylor will be assisted by Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, with Stuart Attwell in charge of VAR.

Taylor has refereed two games this season- the first saw Man Utd beat Chelsea 4-0, and the other was Brighton’s 1-1 draw against West Ham last week. Continue reading →