Who: Manchester City vs Liverpool
Content: English Premier League
Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
When: Sunday 4:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 13:30 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
The match between Manchester City and Liverpool has been seen as a key battle in the Premier League title race in recent seasons, but Sunday’s clash may just show which of the two clubs is best equipped to chase down Arsenal at the top of the league.
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By the time the weekend’s big game begins at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal, who visit Sunderland in a surprise package on Saturday, could be 10 points clear of champions Liverpool and nine points clear of Josep Guardiola’s City.
This scenario would put even more pressure on City and Liverpool. They will be in second and third place respectively in the final round of international competition before suspending play.
There are signs that both clubs are improving. City have lost just one of their last 13 games in all competitions and on Wednesday beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the Champions League with Erling Haaland scoring his 18th goal for the club this season and a rejuvenated Phil Foden scoring twice.
Liverpool also overcame a record of losing six of seven games in all competitions, defeating Aston Villa and Real Madrid in their last two games.
Guardiola: “I’m eager to play against Liverpool”
City were stripped of the title last season after losing both at home and away to the Reds, and City manager Josep Guardiola has admitted he was surprised by Liverpool’s slump this season.
“Of course, but sometimes momentum is important,” Guardiola said. “Every club is there except Arsenal, who are more consistent than anyone else.
“But it’s a long season, so I’m going to be there and see what happens. To be honest, I’m very excited and happy to be able to prepare for Sunday. I’m hoping to play against Liverpool.”
Foden warns City manager he’s ‘back’
The City and England forward scored twice in the win over Dortmund, scoring his first European goal of the season and doubling his tally in all competitions.
City’s star academy product struggled for much of last season, opening up about his off-field issues and the injuries that affected him, but there are signs that the 25-year-old, who was a standout player in City’s Premier League-winning 2023/24 season, is returning to his best form.
Guardiola said: “Phil is back. “How many times have we seen Phil score these kinds of goals? We really missed this last season, but I think he will help us a lot this season.”
Guardiola added: “He’s a special player, we need his goals and I hope today is the first step towards that. It’s important to have him in for Sunday’s big game (against Liverpool).”
Van Dijk says Liverpool need to build from the back
Until Saturday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Liverpool had failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 games.
Captain Virgil van Dijk said: “It’s easy to say because we’ve won two games in a row. In a chaotic world, we need to stay calm and keep things in perspective.” “We all know how football works. That can change overnight.”
Liverpool face another big test of their title defense on Sunday when Van Dijk takes on Haaland, who has scored 26 goals for club and country this season.
“Arsenal are in great form at the moment and you can see they’re not conceding goals and giving away chances,” Van Dijk added.
“We have the quality to hurt anyone on the break and it starts with the defense and you could see the hard work today.
“We have to keep moving forward. Sunday will be another difficult one.”
I am looking forward to the “Clásico” against City.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott was not surprised by his team’s return to winning form in their last two games, but warned that playing Manchester City would be a much tougher challenge.
“Our main focus right now is consistency. You know, we’re losing a lot more games than we normally do…We were consistent, we were losing consistently. That wasn’t the idea,” Slott told reporters ahead of Sunday’s matchup with a laugh.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me how the last two games went. It helped that the other team did exactly what we expected them to do,” he added.
Slott said his immediate focus was on Guardiola’s City rather than the league position.
“Like the Clasico, these are the few matches that everyone looks forward to,” he said.
“What I like about Josep Guardiola’s teams is that 10 times out of 10 we get the results we expect. There are no great football games, no wasted time or anything like that that I am starting to hate more and more about football,” Slott said.
direct confrontation
In the 218 meetings between the two clubs, Liverpool have a much higher winning percentage, with the Reds winning 110 and City winning 60, with 58 matches ending in a draw.
The Reds’ league double against City last year included a 2-0 win at the Etihad in February thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai, which saw the eventual champions beat City by 11 points.
City’s last win against the Reds was a 4-1 thrashing at the Etihad in April 2023. It came on a tense day, with an apparent attack on City’s team bus by Liverpool fans and Guardiola being accused of holding a disrespectful celebration in front of Liverpool substitutes.
City team news
Guardiola appears to have the luxury of choosing from a fully fit squad, with talismanic midfielder Rodri likely to join the squad after recovering from injury and form a double pivot with Nico Gonzalez.
Left-back Rayan Ait Nouri is recovering from injury, while Nico O’Reilly has excelled in his absence and could be tasked with tying up Salah.
City’s projected starting lineup
Donnarumma. Nunez, Diaz, Gvardiol, O’Reilly. Rodri, Gonzalez. Cherki, Foden, Doc. haaland
liverpool team news
The Reds’ first-choice keeper Alisson Becker remains injured, but Liverpool have the impressive Giorgi Mamadashvili to rely on in his place.
Slott admitted record signing Alexander Isaac, who has a groin problem, may be fit enough to join the squad but is not at risk, while Curtis Jones has also returned to training after suffering a groin injury.
Conor Bradley produced a sensational defensive performance against Real Madrid in midweek and is sure to retain his place at right-back with Jeremy Frimpong out for another six weeks, while Andy Robertson also impressed at left-back and could start again as new signing Milos Kerkes continues to adapt to life at Liverpool.
Liverpool’s expected starting lineup
Mamadashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson. Graven Birch, Mac Allister. Salah, Szoboszlei, Wirtz. Equitique
