Arsenal can go 11 points clear of Premier League dark horses Liverpool with victory at Anfield this weekend.
The Merseysiders are focusing on securing a return to the top four for the first time since 2009, but some have tipped Brendan Rodgers's men as title contenders.
However, a defeat to the table-topping Gunners on Saturday could put the Reds too far back to launch a late charge at a first domestic championship in 24 years.
The match pits the country's most potent strikeforce against one of the strongest defensive duos.
Liverpool's SAS partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have scored 37 top-flight goals between them this season, but Arsenal have not lost a Premier League game in which the Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny centre-back pairing have completed 90 minutes in over two years.
All four are expected to feature at Anfield, but Arsene Wenger could be without as many as seven first-team players including Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, who faces a late fitness test.
Mikel Arteta should shake off a knock to play alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace from a central midfield position, while Wenger will choose between the fit-again Kieran Gibbs and Spanish international Nacho Monreal at left-back.
Rodgers's injury concerns are in defensive areas, where Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique are long-term absentees and Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Agger are nursing calf and hamstring problems respectively.
That means Kolo Toure will continue at centre-half despite his high-profile error which cost the Reds a point at West Bromwich Albion last weekend, and face the club that he played for between 2002 and 2009.
Recent form
Liverpool: DWWDWW
Arsenal: WDWWWW
Possible starting lineups
Liverpool: Mignolet; Flanagan, Toure, Skrtel, Cissokho; Sterling, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho; Suarez, Sturridge
Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Podolski, Ozil, Cazorla; Giroud
Sports Mole says: 1-2
Joe Fish
