On Sunday afternoon, when Liverpool hosts Manchester City in the Premier League, the defending champions will square up against the struggling contenders in a thrilling game awaiting at Anfield.
Liverpool vs Manchester City: Preview
Liverpool have been unable to pull out a victory in their last encounters with Manchester City in the Premier League (D3, L2). They have never gone winless against Manchester City six times in a row. And there is no doubt that Klopp is desperate to defeat Manchester City this Sunday.
The Premier League championship campaign has almost always been a two-horse contest between Liverpool and Man City over the previous five years, but Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has already acknowledged that Sunday’s match will not determine the outcome of the title for his team this time around.
Liverpool were left to regret a number of questionable refereeing decisions in last week’s 3-2 loss to the Gunners, but the injured Reds were a different kettle of fish for Rangers to manage in the Champions League. Meanwhile, Arsenal and Man City continue to sail off into the distance.
Liverpool’s most recent game gave them more confidence. Scott Arfield had given Rangers the lead in the battle before Liverpool’s Egyptian wing king, Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott, and Roberto Firmino completed a dramatic comeback for the team in red. Salah’s goals came in the 75th, 80th, and 81st minutes. Thus, completing the fastest Champions League hat trick.
Liverpool welcomes Man City to Anfield with their undefeated home record for 2022–23 still intact. Klopp’s team has now gone 27 top-flight games without suffering a loss at their Merseyside headquarters. Liverpool now seeks to improve on their meager 10th-place position in the Premier League table. This is the worst start the Reds have had since the 2012-13 campaign.
However, the Merseyside outfit outplayed the Sky Blues in the Community Shield. And Klopp is optimistic they can repeat it this time too.
Team News
Arthur Melo, Luis Diaz, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are still out of the running for Liverpool in the crucial match on Sunday, although Curtis Jones is still a possibility.
In the Champions League victory over Rangers, Andy Robertson was allowed to enter the game off the bench. He is now ready to take Kostas Tsimikas’ spot at left-back, with Joe Gomez filling in for Alexander-Arnold on the other flank.
For the champions’ visit, Klopp is once again torn between playing a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation, but none of Salah, Nunez, Firmino, or Diogo Jota—who assisted all of Salah’s goals in midweek—deserve to be benched.
However, the Liverpool manager may finally choose for the 4-3-3 because of concerns that his midfield crop would be overrun, with Firmino maybe being the unfortunate one to occupy a position on the bench.
The Predicted XI
Here’s the predicted line-up for the Reds:
Allison, Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Thiago, Fabinho, Salah, Nunez, Jota
What Anfield Home predicts
Liverpool 3-3 Manchester City
Goals are almost always certain in such a battle of the giants. And if Liverpool are to continue their illustrious undefeated streak at Anfield, they will unquestionably need to make up for their defensive shortcomings with offensive skill. Even though City is on a good run of form, we think the Reds with their 12th Men Anfield are tough to get past.
