Liverpool will welcome high-flying Manchester City to Anfield this Sunday for the 53rd meeting between both rivals in the Premier League era.
Venue: Anfield (Liverpool)
Key Statistics
Liverpool have conceded first in ten of their last 12 Premier League games.
The hosts are undefeated in their last 13 home matches when hosting the PL champions of the season prior (W7, D6).
The Reds are unbeaten in their last 27 league games at Anfield (W20, D7).
They have kept 15 clean sheets in their last 27 games at Anfield.
Manchester City are the highest scorers and have the joint-best defensive record in the league 33 goals scored, nine conceded).
The visitors are unbeaten in their last 21 EPL games (W16, D5).
They are unbeaten in their last five EPL games against Liverpool (W2, D3).
There have been goals in both halves in 14 of Liverpool’s last 16 matches.
Erling Haaland could become the first City player to score in eight successive PL matches.
City have kept four clean sheets from their last five competitive games.
Head to head
In 52 Premier League games between both sides, Liverpool have 22 wins while Manchester City have 11 wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Liverpool: W-L-W-D-W
Manchester City: D-W-W-W-W
Liverpool
After recording one of their biggest away wins in the Champions League in midweek, Liverpool will return to Anfield this Sunday to face arguably their biggest test this season.
The Reds beat Scottish Premiership side Rangers 7-1 at the Ibrox Stadium on Wednesday to boost their chances of qualifying from their UCL group. In an entertaining game in Glasgow, the Scottish giants took the lead early in the game through Scott Arfield. But a brace from the in-form Roberto Firmino and another strike by Darwin Nunez gave the visitors are commanding lead.
But, Mohamed Salah who started the game from the bench came in late into the game the score the fastest hat-trick in UCL history, while youngster Harvey Elliot completed the rout.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will now hope that the huge win will give them some confidence going into this tie as they look to salvage their already messed-up league season. Liverpool were beaten 3-2 by league leaders Arsenal last weekend and so come into this round of games with ten points and in tenth position.
The ten points after eight games (W2, D4, L2) is their worst PL start in a decade and has them sitting a whopping 14 points behind the current league leaders. Their major problem this season has come from their slow starts–the Reds have conceded first in ten of their last 12 league games. With Man City the best starters in the league, Liverpool have to be focused from start to finish if they want to win this game and end their PL winless run against City which has stretched to five games (D3, L2).
Possible Liverpool starting line-up
Alisson Becker; Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota; Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino.
Injured: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Joel Matip, Luis Diaz, Arthur Melo
Doubtful: Curtis Jones
Suspended: None
Manchester City
Manchester City will travel to Anfield looking to continue their dominance in this fixture in recent times.
Pep Guardiola’s side were beaten by Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final last season. But in the league they have maintained superiority in recent head-to-head meetings, winning twice in their last five league meetings (D3).
The visitors also come into this tie in a significantly better position in the league table than their closest rivals. They are currently 13 points ahead of Liverpool, albeit with a game more.
While their hosts have lost two times this season, Guardiola’s side are unbeaten after nine rounds (W, D2), which forms part of an incredible 21-game unbeaten run in the competition (W16, D5).
The Cityzens have been firing on all cylinders this season and lead the top scores chart in England and in Europe’s top five leagues having discord 33 goals this season. They have also been solid defensively and have kept four clean sheets in their last five outings.
Having rested most of their key players in their disappointing 0-0 draw with FC Copenhagen in the UCL on Tuesday, City will come into this tie fresh and full of confidence to take maximum points from their struggling rivals.
Possible Manchester City starting line-up
Ederson Moraes; Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland.
Injured: Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Kyle Walker
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Liverpool 2-3 Manchester City