By Michael Grocock

Arsenal and Liverpool may be fighting for the top spot in the Premier League but it is the FA Cup third round where the two will be facing each other on Sunday.

The two teams had a contrast to the end to the year, with The Gunners tasting defeat for the fourth time this season against Fulham whilst Liverpool took a comfortable three points against Burnley away from home to go top of the table.

Arsenal are the record holders in the FA Cup, lifting the trophy 14 times, most recently under Mikel Arteta in 2020.

Liverpool on the other hand will be looking to make it number nine in the competition, with their latest success being in 2022 where the reds saw off Chelsea in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in 120 minutes of play.

It is no doubt that both sides will be desperate to win at the Emirates on Sunday but with a Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham on the following Wednesday for the six time European Champions, it is likely Jurgen Klopp will make multiple changes to his starting eleven.

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Both the North London and Merseyside clubs will have players missing due to international duty, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Wataro Endo, Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu all missing out on the fixture as they take part in their respective national competitions, The Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.

Salah will be the player missed the most by The Reds, with the winger scoring 14 goals in the league alone. It does, however, give opportunity to Harvey Elliott to play on the right, who has had to make impact off the bench for the most part of the season.

Liverpool will also be without Dominik Szoboszlai following a hamstring injury he faced against Newcastle on New Year’s Day.

As for Arsenal, Jurrien Timber remains unfit with an ACL injury he sustained earlier in the season, as well as Thomas Partey who is still out of training with a thigh injury.

Oleksander Zinchenko is the latest blow for The Gunners, with the Ukranian looking likely to be sidelined for the game.

Where to watch:

The match will be broadcasted live on BBC 1 with the game kicking off at 4:30pm.