Liverpool face Arsenal with 3-point gap at stake

Liverpool have won five straight matches since Oct. 11 and have nine wins and three draws in 13 games under Andoni Iraola, BBC Sport reported in a Nov. 1 article.

The Sunday, Nov. 1, 16:30 GMT home match against Premier League champion Arsenal can cut Liverpool’s deficit to three points; a defeat would leave them nine points back after nine games.

Iraola said Liverpool can draw on Anfield again. "We have a big advantage over other teams because this atmosphere we can create is special," he said.

The venue is part of the stakes. Arsenal have not won at Anfield since 2012, according to BBC Sport. Mikel Arteta played for Arsenal that day and returns as a Premier League-winning manager with the reigning champions.

Iraola has leaned on rotation while managing two-match weeks. Liverpool have made three or more changes to their starting XI in nine successive games. "Now, it's more a matter of getting the decisions right, in terms of loading and freshening the legs," Iraola said.

"We are changing [the team] a lot from game to game and I think we will continue this approach."

The tactical change is not built around possession for its own sake. After Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 with 35.6% of the ball, Iraola said: "Whoever controls the game is whoever controls the chances."

The BBC Sport article said Liverpool are averaging 24.9 long balls per Premier League game this season, compared with 21 last term. Their high pressures in the opposition half, meaning attempts to force mistakes near the opponent’s goal, have risen to 165.9 a game from 160.1, while sprints have increased to 128.3 from 123.2. Total distance has slipped to 111.1 kilometres a game from 111.7 kilometres.

Captain Virgil van Dijk described the trade-off in Liverpool’s higher-risk defending. "It's still a work in progress, but if you defend with a lot of intensity you have a big chance to win the ball high," he said. "Sometimes, that creates some risk and it could be vulnerable."

Liverpool’s only defeat this season came against Manchester City on Oct. 11, according to BBC Sport. Since then, Iraola’s team have beaten Villarreal, Brighton and Chelsea, the latter on penalties in the Carabao Cup.

Arsenal arrive after being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Fleetwood, BBC Sport reported. The article also cited former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher’s view that Liverpool are Arsenal’s biggest title challengers, while Iraola said on Friday it was too early to focus on the table.

Iraola said "there has to be another level" after training overran before his Friday news conference.

On Nov. 1 at 16:30 GMT, Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield in the Premier League. The result will either cut Liverpool’s deficit to three points or leave Arsenal nine points ahead after nine games.

Liverpool’s starting XI on Nov. 1 will show whether Iraola extends his run of making three or more changes, a sequence that stands at nine consecutive games.

Arsenal’s Nov. 1 visit tests a winless Anfield league run dating to 2012, according to BBC Sport.