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LONDON. — After consecutive home defeats, English Premier League soccer leaders Arsenal will look to reassert their title credentials when they host third-place Liverpool in a top-of-the-table affair tonight.
Arsenal have been in superb form in the league, winning seven and drawing one of their last eight games to establish a two-point lead over Chelsea at the summit.

However, after losing at home to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and then falling to Chelsea in the League Cup, questions are being asked about their capacity to go the distance.

In Liverpool they face a team brimming with confidence after a 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in which Luis Suarez claimed a hat-trick and Daniel Sturridge scored with an extravagant chip.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who will recall stars including Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud to his starting XI, says the game represents an ideal opportunity for his side to show their worth.

“We know the games. We have to respond well against Liverpool,” said the Frenchman.
“We are in a strong position in the league and have a good opportunity at home, and we have to turn this round. Away from home we are very solid, but at home you know it’s important and vital to win the big games.”

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been given the “all clear” to return to action, having been sidelined since September 16 with a shoulder problem.

Meanwhile, the clash between high-flying Arsenal and Liverpool today could well be decided by the form of two strikers whose recent performances have silenced those doubting them before the start of the season.

Leaders Arsenal raised plenty of eyebrows when they failed to land a striker during the transfer window, leaving Frenchman Olivier Giroud, who underwhelmed during his first season in England, to lead the line.

Giroud has since gone on to net five goals and set up a further four in nine league matches, to prove his critics wrong and help Arsenal to the top of the table. While there were no doubts over the ability of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, there was plenty of speculation he was set to leave the club, possibly for Arsenal, after the Anfield side failed to qualify for this season’s Champions League. Since his return from a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, the Uruguayan has scored six goals in four league appearances, including a hat-trick in last week’s 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion, and has struck up a devastating partnership with Daniel Sturridge to put the doubts over his commitment to rest.

Fixtures
Today (all 5pm unless otherwise stated): Arsenal v Liverpool (7:30pm), Fulham v Manchester United, Hull City v Sunderland, Manchester City v Norwich City, Newcastle United v Chelsea (1:45pm), Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace, West Ham United v Aston Villa Tomorrow: Everton v Tottenham Hotspur (3:30pm), Cardiff City v Swansea City 6pm) — AFP.