Liverpool vs Arsenal Betting tips

The third round of the FA Cup takes centre stage this weekend and the clash between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield is undoubtedly the pick of the 32 fixtures which will take place between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. It's all the more intriguing because, just 72 hours later, the two will be at it again in their rescheduled Carling Cup encounter. The Gunners thumped Rafa Benitez's men by three goals to nil when they met in the Premiership at the Emirates Stadium in mid November, but the Reds were not playing particularly well at that point and, two months on, the greater momentum appears to be with the Merseyside outfit. Pool have beaten Arsenal on ten of the last 15 occasions which the north London side has visited Anfield, which is indicative of their strength on home soil. Indeed, it's their results when under the expectant eyes of the Kop which have enabled them to recover from an inauspicious start to the season to climb to third place in the Premiership table. Overall, Liverpool have played 14 games at their 45,362 capacity stadium during the current campaign and have yet to suffer a solitary defeat, scoring 31 times and conceding a total of just five goals in the process. Statistically, the Steven Gerard-inspired team have absolutely no peers when it comes to playing in their own backyard. Furthermore, the Reds have few peers in the FA Cup. In 13 appearances in the Final of this tournament, which is recognised as the most famous domestic cup competition in the world, they've lifted the silverware seven times. For their part, Arsenal have a sound record too - they've reached 17 Finals, which have yielded 10 triumphs. But the FA Cup appears to mean a lot more to Liverpool than it does to Arsenal. While this competition has taken a back seat in Arsene Wenger's list of priorities, Liverpool bosses past and present have invariably made a concerted effort to ensure that the trophy takes pride of place in the cabinet at Anfield. This passion for the tournament, combined with Liverpool's greater strength in depth in terms of their squad, not to mention the obvious factor - home advantage - strongly points to a victory for Rafa's charges, although I imagine it'll be a relatively tight game, and I'd be surprised if more than one or two goals are scored. Despite the fact that Thierry Henry is back in the mix, the visitors will find it hard to penetrate the Liverpool defence. The fact that Arsenal have scored 28 goals in 11 home league fixtures, yet just 13 in the same amount of away games, illustrates how hard they find it to hit the back of the net when on the road. As such, opting for Liverpool to win to nil at 9/5 with VCbet is the percentage call. Recent stats augur well for this recommendation - Liverpool have scored at least one with no reply in seven of their last eight matches in all competitions at Anfield. I suspect it will be eight out of nine come Saturday evening. Verdict - 2.50pts Liverpool to win to nil @ 9/5 (VCbet)