Manchester City v Liverpool – Lineups, stats and preview

Match Preview for Manchester City v Liverpool

In-form Manchester City take on a resurgent Liverpool on Sunday with both looking to prove they are still capable of taking a Premier League title fight to Arsenal this season.

City sit six points behind the league leaders having lost three of their 10 games played this season, albeit they have lost just one of their last 13 games in all competitions and look to be finding that consistency once again.

Champions Liverpool, who are a point adrift of City in third, halted an alarming run of four straight defeats in their last Premier League game at home to Aston Villa, before they got the better of Real Madrid at Anfield in what will be a huge boost to Arne Slot and his side.

Both have shown their faults already this season but a statement win at the Etihad for either side would show Arsenal – who are away at Sunderland on Saturday – that their charge towards a first title since 2004 is not the foregone conclusion some are already making it out to be.

It will be a momentus occasion for City manager Pep Guardiola as he takes charge of his 1000th game in management. Few can match the legendary Catalan’s record over that 18-year career, having won 12 league titles in that time with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City as well as three Champions League titles.

Of the 999 games managed so far, Guardiola has overseen a stunning 715 victories, a track record the manager himself was happy to admit he was in “awe” of during his pre-match press conference.

Asked if he knows how many victories he has led his teams to, the 54-year-old said: “Of course I know, a lot. The numbers are insane, I’m sorry to tell you.

“I’m not thinking how many but when you have the milestones and you read what you have done, the victories, the average, not just in Premier League but in the Champions League too, we have won incredible things in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here.

“It is difficult to reach and if I start again I would not reach it, it is too much games. A few defeats, comparing 1,000 games and hopefully on Sunday I hope we can continue.”

Reds boss Slot is earlier on in his managarial career but has already proved he has the winning mentality similar to that of Pep’s after guiding Liverpool to a 20th league title in his first season in charge but the second season has proved slightly more difficult.

But midfielder Dominik Szobozslai said the Reds are not concerned by slipping seven points behind Arsenal and insists there will be plenty more twists and turns before the end of the season.

“The season is long,” the Hungarian said. “If we were seven points clear at this stage nobody would be saying we had won the league already. Last season when we were leading the way, we just stayed calm and kept on going because anything can happen.

“We just need to focus on ourselves, win our games and then let’s see what other teams are doing. When everything works, everyone is happy and it’s all positive – it’s easy to stick together.

“The hardest thing is when you find yourself in a position where we were a few weeks ago – but even then we stuck together and kept on going, believing it would turn for us.”

Manchester City v Liverpool team news

Pep Guardiola will again be without Rodri for the clash with Liverpool, as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner is not fully fit and will be rested until after the international break. Mateo Kovacic remains City’s only confirmed absentee, with the Croatian midfielder sidelined long-term due to an ankle injury.

With no new fitness concerns, Guardiola is expected to name a similar squad to the one that thrashed Borussia Dortmund. Erling Haaland, who sits just two goals shy of 100 in the Premier League, will aim to reach the milestone in what would be a record-breaking 108th appearance.

Alexander Isak remains a doubt for Liverpool after suffering a groin injury in the Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt, though Arne Slot has confirmed he will not start even if passed fit. Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring), Alisson Becker (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) are all ruled out.

Mohamed Salah, fresh from scoring against Aston Villa, needs just one more goal or assist to set a new Premier League record for goal involvements with a single club, surpassing Wayne Rooney’s 276 for Manchester United.

Manchester City v Liverpool predicted lineups

Man City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Cherki, Silva, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Liverpool: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Wirtz; Ekitike

Manchester City v Liverpool stats

• Man City lost both Premier League meetings with Liverpool last season, as many defeats as they’d suffered in their previous 12 against them (W4 D6). They last lost more consecutively against the Reds between March 2015 and December 2016 (4).
• Liverpool won this exact fixture 2-0 last season but haven’t won consecutive away league games against Man City since a run of three between 1987 and 1991.
• Manchester City have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games against reigning champions (D1 L1), most recently a 4-1 victory against Liverpool at Anfield in February 2021.
• Since the start of April, Manchester City have won the most points in the Premier League (42), winning 13 of 19 games (D3 L3), while they’ve won nine of their 10 at the Etihad in that time (L1).