Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has reiterated that he's looking to finish the season strong - as they aim to return to winning ways against Arsenal. The Dutchman also offered an insight into his selection decision, regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold, after the Reds full-back confirmed he would be leaving the club this summer.
The Reds suffered only their third defeat in the Premier League after falling against Chelsea in their 3-1 verdict at Stamford Bridge last Sunday. They return to Anfield, where they host the Gunners, with the opportunity to hand Mikel Arteta's side a set-back in their Champions League qualification aspirations.
Manchester City, Newcastle United and Chelsea are all trailing behind Arsenal, but their lead in second position is now just three points to third-placed City. Arsenal will have to lick their wounds and pluck up the courage to spoil Liverpool's title party after their disappointing Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
The north London club themselves will be desperate to return to winning ways - after a run of four games without a win - including three defeats in as many games.
But in doing so, they will come up against Liverpool who will be intent on ensuring they don't fall into a rut in their closing games of the season.
"The same thought-process goes through my mind for Sunday's game, if Conor [Bradley] would've been available for Chelsea, he'd have started already. But he wasn't so there's a fair chance he will start," said Slot.
"A lot of influences on decisions I make and one of them is losing - so I'm not looking to lose all four, but there are more things into a line-up than losing or rotating, so we will see.
"Conor Bradley is going to start, as I think he needs playing time, to get some games under his belt to be prepared for next season.
"We want to win every game of football, we were disappointed losing against Chelsea, that's nothing different for Arsenal.
"These two teams have the highest possible standard of what you can ask for, both very good teams, we both want to win, but it's a bit different that when the league would still be finished that we wouldn't have won the league title yet."
He added: "We definitely want to win the game, but I don't think that's any different to Arsenal.
"Difficult to predict but both teams look forward to this game. Okay, maybe there's a bit at stake for Arsenal, top four, assume they prefer second to third and fourth, we can only finish as first.
"It's difficult to predict if it will be edgy."
Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.