Reds aim to extend gap
EPL: SPLUTTERING ARSENAL HOPING TO GET CHALLENGE BACK ON TRACK
Liverpool can strengthen their position on top of the Premier League when they travel to Bournemouth tomorrow.
Spluttering Arsenal will hope for a slip from the Reds as they look to get their title challenge back on track against Crystal Palace.
At the other end of the table, Brentford’s Ivan Toney is expected to return against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is already planning a tattoo to mark a season to remember as the rampant Reds chase four major trophies.
Juergen Klopp’s table toppers sit two points clear of secondplaced Manchester City and can extend that gap to five points with a victory over Bournemouth tomorrow.
Despite Mohamed Salah’s absence at the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions and have their sights set on winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League.
Snapped up from Brighton in the close-season, Mac Allister has played a key role in Liverpool’s resurgence this term.
The flamboyant Argentina World Cup winner wants to get a tattoo to commemorate his country’s triumph in Qatar last year, and next on his body art to-do list will be inking any silverware Liverpool lift this season.
“I want to get my tattoo about the World Cup first and then of course, I will get something about Liverpool, because since the first day I felt a really good connection with this club and I’m really happy to be here,” Mac Allister said.
“(A trophy) would be nice! Maybe on my leg. Hopefully we can win something this year and get it done.”
With just one win in their last seven games in all competitions, Arsenal have suffered an untimely stumble that threatens to derail their bid for a first title since 2004.
Mikel Arteta’s men will host Crystal Palace today on the back of three successive defeats against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Fulham and West Ham in the Premier League.
Arsenal were top of the table before Christmas but they have lost their way due to a fatal combination of poor finishing and sloppy defending.
Trailing Liverpool by five points, the fourth-placed Gunners have no margin for error and will hope their recent warm-weather training camp in Dubai is reinvigorating.Gabriel Jesus could return to face Palace after the Brazil forward missed the Liverpool defeat with a knee injury.
Ivan Toney is expected to make his first Brentford appearance for eight months as the England striker returns from his ban for breaching Football Association gambling rules.
Facing a fired-up Toney today will be a major concern for Forest, who are one point ahead of Brentford and four points above the bottom three.
Bottom of the table Sheffield United are already eight points from safety ahead of their clash with West Ham tomorrow.