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Sports

Wenger short on options ahead of Liverpool clash

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

London, England – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will have his lineup options severely limited ahead of Saturday's clash with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

It has been a trying couple of weeks for the Gunners with former captain Cesc Fabregas leaving the club for Barcelona, while fellow midfielder Samir Nasri is reportedly headed out as well.

Arsenal also has suffered a number of injuries and had two players receive suspensions after a 0-0 draw at Newcastle to open the season.

The lone bright spot was a 1-0 win over Udinese in midweek in the first leg of their Champions League playoff, but Wenger will be missing a number of key pieces when Kenny Dalglish brings his Liverpool side to town.

Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere are each out through injury, while both Gervinho and Alex Song will begin serving suspensions stemming from the Newcastle match.

Nasri has been included in the team for the game, but it seems as though it is a matter of when, not if, he will be headed to Manchester City.

Liverpool has had a very productive summer to this point, signing Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique among others.

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland in their opening match, but a win at the Emirates would go a long way toward erasing that result.

The match also carries a little extra importance with both teams expected to be in the hunt for a place in the Champions League.

Manchester United opened defense of its league title with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich, while the club's opponents on Monday, Tottenham, had its match with Everton postponed due to the riots in London.

United will be missing defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic through injury, while Tottenham will try to build on a dominating 5-0 win over Hearts in Europa League qualifying in midweek.

Chelsea hosts West Bromwich with the Blues missing goalkeeper Petr Cech for the next four weeks because of a knee injury, while the weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Wear-Tyne derby as Sunderland entertains Newcastle.

Bolton and Manchester City both recorded 4-0 wins over promoted clubs to open the season, with Wanderers downing QPR and City handling Swansea City. Things figure to get tougher for both sides when they meet up at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday.

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish makes his home debut against Blackburn, QPR tries to bounce back from a rough opening match against Everton, which will be playing its first league match of the season, while Saturday's other contest features Wigan manager Roberto Martinez taking on his old club in Swansea City.

The other two matches on Sunday feature Norwich City entertaining Stoke City, with the Potters having earned a 0-0 draw against Chelsea to open the season, while Wolverhampton tangles with Fulham at Molineux Stadium.