Arsenal Is Out to Stop liverpool's Lethal Forward pairing - Fox

According to Fox News today.........Liverpool, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Arsenal holds the distinction of being the only Premier League club this season to prevent either Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge from getting on the score sheet when the lethal duo has started a given match together.

The Gunners kept Suarez and Sturridge in check during a 2-0 victory at the Emirates in November, and they will be looking for a similar outcome on Saturday when they head to Anfield to take on a Liverpool side that has dropped four points in its last three league matches.

Suarez leads the Premier League by a wide margin with 23 goals, nine more than Sturridge, who sits third in the scoring table. And while goals for the Liverpool pairing have been more plentiful at Anfield, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that his first-place Gunners can provide another stout defensive showing by denying service to Suarez and Sturridge on Saturday.


"(The key is) for us to dominate the game and leave them as few balls as possible," Wenger told the club's official website. "That will be one of our targets of course. At Liverpool the task might be a bit more difficult but the philosophy on our side has to be the same - to master the ball and to have the ball and to dominate the game.

"Liverpool have a strong offensive force with Sturridge, with Suarez, with (Philippe) Coutinho, with (Raheem) Sterling behind. All these players can score goals and make a difference. So what you want on our side is a strong defensive performance."

Arsenal comes into the weekend in first place thanks to Manchester City's home loss to Chelsea on Monday. The Gunners have not tasted defeat in Premier League play since falling to City in a nine-goal thriller at the Etihad on Dec. 14.

But while Arsenal continues its title push the rest of the way, Liverpool is fixated on a top-four finish. The Reds trail the Gunners in the table by eight points, but with Arsenal, City and Chelsea receiving better title odds, Brendan Rodgers' side would do well to focus on maintaining fourth place to secure Champions League football for next season.

Chelsea and City will hope to close the gap on Arsenal should the Gunners drop points in Saturday's early fixture. The Blues will welcome Newcastle to Stamford Bridge on Saturday after the Magpies were humbled in last week's Tyne-Wear derby, and the Citizens will look to bury the disappointment of their first home defeat in league play this season as they head to Carrow Road to face Norwich City.

Tottenham, Everton and Manchester United are expected to contest Liverpool for the final Champions League qualifying spot at the end of the season, and all three clubs return to action on Sunday. Spurs will host Everton at White Hart Lane in Sunday's early fixture while United welcomes Fulham to Old Trafford as the Cottagers look to avoid a fifth-straight league loss.

Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Aston Villa welcomes West Ham United toy Villa Park, West Bromwich Albion heads to Selhurst Park to face a Crystal Palace side that is treading just above the relegation zone, Sunderland hosts a Hull City side that snapped a four-game slide with a draw in its last outing and Stoke City travels to St. Mary's for a meeting with Southampton.

Rounding out Saturday's Premier League action is a meeting between Swansea City and Cardiff City for the latest installment of the South Wales derby at the Liberty Stadium.