Critical Match for Arsenal as they Face Premier League Leaders Liverpool in Must-Win Showdown.

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Injury-plagued Arsenal will need to be at their best when Premier League leaders Liverpool come to the Emirates on Sunday, as they aim to bounce back from their recent setbacks. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the clash at the London Stadium, where both Julen Lopetegui and Erik ten Hag will be looking to ease the pressure on themselves and their teams. AFP Sport examines the key storylines to watch out for in the upcoming weekend fixtures. Arsenal's depleted squad faces a tough test against Liverpool The Gunners were expected to be title contenders this season, but injuries have hampered their progress. They will need to dig deep to compete against the league leaders.

But it is Liverpool who lead the way after a near flawless start to Arne Slot's reign.

The Gunners shock 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth last week leaves them four points behind the Reds and three adrift of second-placed City.

Arsenal could be without three of their most important players with William Saliba suspended, Martin Odegaard sidelined by an ankle injury and Bukayo Saka a doubt due to a hamstring problem.

Defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber could also be missing and Mikel Arteta has called on the Arsenal fans to be the 12th man on Sunday.

"The place has to be rocking here against Liverpool to give us all the possible energy that they can," he said.

Liverpool, with 11 wins from 12 matches in all competitions, are flying under their new manager but victory against Arsenal would be the clearest statement yet that they are genuine title contenders.

Man Utd hunt goals against struggling West HamManchester United showed encouraging signs of life in their comeback win against Brentford last week, with Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford linking up well in attack.

It was a welcome sight for beleaguered manager Ten Hag, whose team had failed to find the net in their previous three league matches.

Hojlund scored his first Premier League goal of the season while Rashford, playing on the right of the attack, looked sharp, setting up Garnacho's goal.

But only winless Crystal Palace, Southampton and Ipswich have scored fewer than United's seven goals in eight league games.

Just 10 games into his reign in east London, Lopetegui is already under scrutiny after a second-half collapse in a 4-1 defeat at rivals Tottenham last weekend.

A return of eight points from eight games is not what Hammers fans expected after spending £120 million ($156 million) strengthening their squad in the transfer window.

Pressure mounts for winless quartetFor the first time in English top-flight history, four clubs remain without a win from their opening eight games of a season.

It is difficult to predict a win for any of the three sides in the relegation zone this weekend -- bottom team Wolves face Brighton away while Southampton travel to Manchester City and Crystal Palace host Tottenham.

Winless Ipswich, fourth from bottom, could put some distance between themselves and the drop zone if they beat Brentford.

It is a particularly sharp fall from grace for Palace, who finished 10th last season after a storming end to the campaign.

The toothless London side have scored just five goals so far this season -- the lowest tally in the league -- and manager Oliver Glasner admits they are short of confidence.

Speaking after Monday's 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest, he said: "I don't think it's a tactical problem, it's a mentality problem, it's a lack of confidence and so this is what we have to change."

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Everton and West Ham already have a four-point cushion over the bottom four, who can ill afford to be cut adrift in a mini-league to avoid the drop.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)