England Round 07

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Liverpool vs Manchester City Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Firmino, Mane

Manchester City:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, Foden; Jesus, De Bruyne, Grealish

Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield, in what is the biggest match of the season to date. At the same time this is a battle between the two most successful managers in England, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Their rivalry started when they first met in Bundesliga while Klopp was coaching Borussia Dortmund and Guardiola was with Bayern Munich. After leaving Bundesliga, Klopp penned down a new deal with Liverpool in October 2015, and subsequently, Guardiola also joined Manchester City, and their new chapter of rivalry started in England. Pep has won more trophies, but his record against Klopp is the worst of all the top managers he has faced. The Spaniard has lost nine of the 21 encounters against the German opponent. His points per game of 1.43 against Klopp is comfortably the lowest compared with other coaches he has faced. However, Man City ended an 18-year winless record at Anfield in February with a high 4:1 victory, their first win there since 2003. Manchester City benefited from an uncharacteristic empty stadium due to pandemic. Prior to that, Liverpool had won 7 out of 8 mutual games played at Anfield, scoring 19 and conceding 7 goals.

Liverpool were excellent during the midweek. They outplayed Porto in the Champions League and won 5:1 at Dragao. Salah and Firmino scored braces, while Mane also put his name on the scoresheet. The atmosphere in the squad is very good, while the players confidence is higher. Klopp has three injury worries ahead of this derby. He will be without the services of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold due to a groin injury. Midfielder Thiago Alcantara is also absent, while Harvey Elliott is a long-term absentee. James Milner was excellent at right-back against Porto, but two matches in just four days could be too much for the 35-year-old veteran, so Joe Gomez is also an option. Speaking about Milner, he made 203 appearances for the Citizens during his spel at the Etihad. Meanwhile, Klopp has to choose about the third striker between Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino. Or, there is another solution, to switch his system around and start with a 4-2-3-1 formation. That would allow Liverpool to field both Jota and Firmino, as have been the case against Man City in the past.

Manchester City have already dropped five points, so this match is very important. The Citizens started with a narrow 1:0 loss from Tottenham, then beat Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester City. The last two matches saw a goalless draw with Southampton and big victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. But City weren't too successful in the Champions League. They beat Red Bull Leipzig with 6:3 in the first round, but lost 2:0 to Paris Saint-Germain four days ago. Guardiola also has injury issues ahead of this match. Ilkay Gundogan remain sidelined and that's a big handicap for the reigning champions, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is a major doubt. Some changes are possible, particularly in the attack after a disappointing evening in Paris. Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus are expected to start replacing Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.

Liverpool vs Manchester City Prediction:

I don't expect Liverpool to win this match. The Reds were excellent against Porto, but don't forget they conceded three goals from newly promoted Brentford last weekend. It is clear the defense isn't at desired level and the reigning champions could take advantage. Your stake return in case of draw.

Liverpool vs Manchester City Pick: Manchester City (Draw No Bet) @ 1.83 with Bet365