Liverpool and Arsenal aim to bounce back

Three points and a huge psychological advantage will be at stake when title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal clash in the English premier league at Anfield on Sunday.

Both sides are coming off stinging defeats and both will be looking to their quicksilver strikers, Michael Owen for Liverpool and Thierry Henry for the visitors, to repair the damage.

The spotlight is bound to fall on Owen as the England striker seeks that elusive 100th goal for his club, only days after picking up the European Footballer of the Year award.

It could not have come at a better time after his side suffered their worst league defeat for nine years in last weekend's 4-0 thrashing by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, ending a three-month unbeaten run in the league.

Owen missed out -- rested as a precautionary measure after tweaking a hamstring -- as his team mates were outgunned in midfield and run ragged at the back by the power of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the neat footwork of Eidur Gudjohnsen.

On Sunday, assistant manager Phil Thompson is anxious to make amends in what will probably be his last full month in charge before Gerard Houllier's expected return from heart surgery in January.

Thompson has guided his side to the top of the table, only to see them knocked off the top in the space of three days by Newcastle United, albeit on the number of goals scored.

Now Newcastle face a difficult trip to Elland Road on Saturday against Leeds United, who are just a point behind in third place, and Liverpool know there is a chance of returning to the top.

"After us losing at Chelsea and Arsenal losing to Newcastle both sides will be looking for a response," Thompson said.

"Arsene will want his players to show something and I will be looking for a reaction to the defeat. We want to put the Chelsea game down as a hiccup and we showed in the games after the Barcelona defeat that we bounce back well.

"Nobody likes getting beat and our players take it hard."

RALLYING CRY

England midfielder Steven Gerrard also sounded the rallying cry earlier in the week when he said: "The staff at the club are always telling us that great teams don't get beat twice on the run, so we have to bounce back against Arsenal.

"In a strange way, what happened against Chelsea may help us. Hopefully, it will act as a wake-up call and spur us on."

Arsenal's Henry needs calming down rather than hyping up after blowing his top at referee Graham Poll after Tuesday's 3-1 defeat by Newcastle at Highbury.

The Gunners badly need the French international striker, scorer of 21 goals this season -- 15 of them in the premier league -- if they are to get their campaign back on track with a first win at Anfield since August 1992.

Arsenal will have goalkeeper Richard Wright back between the posts after an eight-week lay-off due to injury and, with Owen in the Liverpool line-up, he is likely to be in for a busy day.

Wenger's side will be coming face to face with their tormentor just seven months after Owen broke hearts across the red and white half of north London with two goals in the last 10 minutes of the FA Cup final.

Both teams have a player suspended, though the loss of midfielder Patrick Vieira is probably more grievous to Arsenal than the absence of Dietmar Hamann for Liverpool, whose Czech midfielder Vladimir Smicer is also highly doubtful after 'flu.