Arsenal v Liverpool Betting Tips: Who will win this year’s Community Shield?
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Odds and preview ahead of tomorrow’s match
The annual season curtain-raiser takes place at Wembley this weekend as Arsenal meet Liverpool in the Community Shield.
While sometimes seen as a glorified pre-season friendly it still whets the appetite of anticipation ahead of the new domestic season and gives us an idea of how sides might line up.
Despite finishing eighth last season, Arsenal steadily improved under Mikel Arteta and they ended the campaign on a high as they beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to win the title and Jurgen Klopp will be looking to build on that triumph with another successful year.
Ahead of the action, we’ve previewed everything you need to know.
Premier League champions Liverpool are the odds-on favourites to pick up where they left off and start the season with a trophy. The Reds are 4/11 to go all way and 4/6 to win in 90 minutes.
Arsenal are the underdogs but will fancy their chances of another Wembley success at 4/1. The Gunners can be backed at 2/1 to lift the trophy.
The two sides last met in a cup competition in October when their Carabao Cup tie ended 5-5, with Liverpool winning on penalties. Over 8.5 goals is 100/1, while Klopp’s side are 27/10 to win with over 3.5 goals.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Arsenal’s likeliest goalscorer at 6/4, while the Gabon international is 50/1 to start the season with a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah scored twice against Arsenal last season and he’s 16/5 to open the scoring.
After a slow start, Arteta had Arsenal firing towards the end of the season and they shocked champions Liverpool with a 2-1 win at the Emirates.
And the Spaniard will be hoping to add the Community Shield to his trophy collection after claiming his first piece of silverware by winning the FA Cup.
For a long time, Arsenal’s problems lay in their defence but it seems they’re finally on their way to having something that resembles a balanced team.
William Saliba has returned from his loan spell at St-Etienne and fans will get their first competitive glimpse of him against Liverpool.
And Brazilian defender Gabriel isn’t far behind, if media reports are to be believed.
Bernd Leno is back after injury, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on the verge of pledging his future to the club.
Although things are looking good for Arsenal, fans will be all too aware that things can come crashing down in an instant – and there’s no tougher test these days than Liverpool.
The Merseyside giants blew everybody away in the Premier League last season and they’ll be hoping for a repeat this time around.
In Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino they have one of the most devastating attacking trios in world football.
Meanwhile, they also boast a formidable defence, marshalled by the imperious Virgil van Dijk and backed up by goalkeeper Alisson.
Yet with Klopp’s high-pressing style of play, plus Liverpool’s relative lack of squad depth, there are concerns they could burn out this season.
Their form suffered following Jordan Henderson’s injury last term, while there seems to be no natural heir should Salah or Mane be sidelined.
Links with Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara will excite fans, although there have been few other rumours on the transfer front.
After blowing the world away last season, all eyes will be on Klopp this year as he looks to continue Liverpool’s progress.
They won’t find it as easy as last time, particularly with those around them strengthening, and Arsenal will harbour ambitions of replicating Liverpool’s year-on-year improvement.
And tomorrow’s clash at Wembley could go a long way to showing just how far Arsenal have come under Arteta, or how much work they still need to do.
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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.
