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Liverpool vs. Arsenal Match Prediction: Offensive Woes To Continue For Reds and Gunners: English Premier League action continues on Sunday for a tea time tussle at Anfield, and we are set to make our soccer tips and predictions for the clash on the pitch between Liverpool and Arsenal.

A quick look at the Premier League table shows that both of these teams are in sad shape at the outset of the year. The Gunners haven’t seen their first goal scored or their first goal conceded this year, thus have two points in two fixtures, while Liverpool has just a single point to show for its first two matches. Obviously, neither of these two teams has to be happy with the start to the season, but both are going to have better results as the year goes on. Still, the prospects of being stuck at the bottom of the table even 10% into the season has to be concerning for both teams.

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It wasn’t the greatest transfer season for the Reds, knowing that they lost out on just about every major signing that they were trying for. Even right up to the last moment, Liverpool had to think that it was going to be able to land Clint Dempsey, but instead, it was Tottenham Hotspur that ultimately landed the American striker. Andy Carroll was sent out on loan to West Ham United, and that was a move that really left the squad significantly thinner than it was before. Luis Suarez has been the most creative man, of the bunch for the Reds, accounting for 13 shots in two matches, but in the end, he has only found the back of the net once, and no one else has really showed that much creativity up front. Steven Gerrard is still the catalyst of the bunch in the midfield, and he has played well, but again, he hasn’t found the back of the net and just hasn’t really been all that much of a threat either.

The Gunners have had even less luck over the course of the first two matches of the Premier League season. They have yet to find the back of the net as a team, and they really haven’t had much to be happy about. Arsenal clearly hasn’t recovered from the loss of Robin van Persie, and Lukas Podolski really has to figure out how to be a force at the top of the lineup, or this is going to be a struggle of a season. The team had all of the chances against Stoke City in the second match of the year, but there wasn’t a conversion. The Gunners had a frustrating day at the transfer deadline as well, losing Nicklas Bendter to Juventes on loan and failing to snare Michael Essien from rivals, Chelsea at the end to Real Madrid. Keep an eye at the back for Arsenal. Laurent Koscielny should be back in the fold, but it is definitely up in in the air as to whether keeper Wojciech Szczeny will be in the Starting XI. If he misses out with his rib injury, it will be his second straight missed start.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Match Preview & Analysis: This just doesn’t look all that promising for either one of these teams. What is lost in this mix is that both of these squads are very strong defensively, and that might cause both of these struggling offenses to have more problems. Sure, we see all of the great names in offense between these two teams, but we just don’t see even two goals coming from it, let alone the three required to push this one past the number.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Punting Tip: Under 2.5 (-113) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 – Arsenal 0

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Match Prediction: Black Cats To Steal Point At Emirates: The time is here for the 2012 English Premier League season, as the first match day of the season kicks off on Saturday afternoon with a great slate of fixtures. ESPN and ESPN3.com are going to start their broadcasts of the Premier League on TV this week with a great clash at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal dukes it out with Sunderland.

It could be a relatively frustrating season for both the Gunners and the Black Cats. Arsenal was able to finish third last year on the Premiership table, but it was nowhere near as good as the two teams from Manchester. With seemingly no hope of catching either Man U or Man City in the long run, Arsenal knows that it has to build towards another run at the Champions League in 2012. Sunderland knows that it doesn’t have all that much in the way of a future in European competition without a remarkable run, and for a team that has been mired in the middle of the table, that just isn’t likely to happen. This is a crucial match at the outset of the year for both teams, as it is one that Arsenal should be comfortably winning, while it is one that Sunderland would be thrilled to get a point out of to get its campaign off on the right foot.

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Of course, all eyes are going to be up front for Arsenal, where fans of the Gunners are no longer going to be seeing the great Robin van Persie. Van Persie spent part of last season out injured, and during that time, he assessed that the club wasn’t going in a direction that he was all that proud of. Now, he’s with Arsenal’s rivals in Manchester United, and there is a massive hole to be filled as a result. Lukas Podolski is going to be the man that has to take the lead and become one of the team’s best strikers, but the question is still there as to whether or not this is going to be a team that has the ability to compete at the top of the Premier League table this year. Longtime Manager Arsene Wenger knows that he has talent, but a lot of that talent is raw, and he has done as much as admit that this is going to be a season about building towards the future of the soccer program in London. Laurent Koscielny and Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain are both out of the fold for the Gunners as well.

In spite of the fact that Sunderland only scored 19 goals for the whole season on the road, there is still some confidence that this could be another year of survival. The Black Cats might be on the path to relegation this year if they don’t get some great contributions from newcomer Louis Saha up front. Sunderland had plenty of scoring potential last season, but in the end, just 45 goals didn’t cut it, especially when compared to the 46 or the relegated Bolton Wanderers and the 38 of the relegated Blackburn Rovers. Phil Bardsley will miss his first of what could be a number of Premier League matches, but James McClean is going to be out there in hopes of getting a great second season in for the Black Cats.

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Match Preview & Analysis: We really don’t have a heck of a lot of confidence in Sunderland’s ability to compete in this match, but the problem that we have with the Gunners is that we don’t think all that much of them either. We’ll take the goal on our side for now and hope that somehow, the Black Cats can find the back of the net. If they do, they should be golden, as we don’t really know if Arsenal has the ability to get more than one in the back of the net against a team that allowed just a shade over a goal per game last season, especially with van Persie now donning Manchester United colors.

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Punting Tip: Sunderland +1 (+120) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 – Sunderland 1

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Picks: A Point Per Side Coming At Sports Direct Arena: A great slate of matches on the English Premier League schedule are set to get started on Saturday, and the match that we are going to be looking at is the primetime clash at Sports Direct Arena featuring our Newcastle vs. Tottenham Hotspur picks. These two teams both had great seasons last year, finishing fifth and fourth on the Premier League table, though both fell short of the Europa League thanks to Chelsea’s successes in the Champions League. Both are going to hope to get off to a great start to the 2012-13 Premiership schedule this year as well, and the two should be in for a great battle on the Premier League odds.

The Toffies are used to this type of success, as they have been challenging for a spot in the Top 5 in the Premier League standings for years and years without all that much threat of relegation. Newcastle United though, is only a few years removed from relegation down to English Championship. Since that point though, the Magpies have been amongst the best of the middling teams in England, and they hope to continue their rise back to a regular in European competition this year.

The hosts know that they were overachievers last year, and duplicating a Top 5 finish and a year ahead of both powers, Liverpool and Chelsea isn’t all that likely once again. Injuries are all over the place to start off the campaign for Newcastle United, knowing that Hatem Ben Arfa is already ruled out of the fold and several others likely are to sit or be limited to substitution roles as well. Papiss Demba Cisse knows that he is going to have to be a force in the middle of the Newcastle offense in this one, just as he was last year when he was able to strike 13 goals in 14 fixtures. However, he is facing a fitness test as well and could be a late entry into or out of the lineup. The newest member of the club, Vernon Anita, is going to be dressed with the Magpies for the first time on Saturday, and if he were to actually take part in the fixture, it would be a real question mark. Anita only joined the club on Thursday and clearly needs some time to gel with his newest teammates.

Harry Redknapp is out after all these years at White Hart Lane, and that paves the way for Andre Villas-Boas. AVB was never loved in his first stint in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea got rid of him before even just one season was completed. It almost seems remarkable to think that Villas-Boas was able to get back on his feet this quickly with yet another relatively top flight English Premier League club, but one can bet that failed efforts here with the Toffies will see him sent packing once again very quickly. This time around, Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe are going to be anchoring the center of the offense, and these two are going to have to be good in front of a midfield that is certainly facing a bunch of questions. Rafael van der Vaart is going to be a force to watch, as well as Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was signed to a long term deal after being on loan to Tottenham Hotspur last year.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Match Preview & Analysis: There is a heck of a lot of animosity that has built between these two teams thanks to the end of last season when Tottenham thrashed Newcastle 5-0 at White Hart Lane. The Magpies are going to be out looking for blood, and they might be able to find it relatively early against what appears like it could be a somewhat relatively leaky Hotspur defense. That being said, we just can’t pick a winner in this one, as a 1-1 Newcastle vs. Tottenham score seems just about right to kick off the campaign.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Punting Tip: Draw (+230) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Score Prediction: Newcastle 1 – Tottenham 1