The Blues take on Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at Anfield this afternoon, with a 15:45 (UK) kick-off.
And we’ve got Kyle Walker, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden coming into the side in place of Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Oscar Bobb and Matheus Nunes for the final Premier League battle between Guardiola and Klopp.
Jack Grealish will miss out like he did against FC Copenhagen in midweek but Jeremy Doku returns to take a place on the bench alongside Nunes who had to come off in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg victory due to a nasty hand injury.
Victory for City would see us top the table this evening as we look to leapfrog Arsenal, who won late on against Brentford yesterday as well as our opponents, who have proved to be our main rivals during this Guardiola v Klopp era.
City certainly head into the game with belief and confidence – we’re unbeaten in 20 games across all competitions and 12 top-flight matches since our 1-0 loss at Aston Villa in December 2022.
Since that Villa Park defeat, we have also won five consecutive away Premier League matches, our best run on the road since October 2021 – January 2022.
WATCH: Stat attack: Liverpool v City
TEAMS
LIVERPOOL XI: Kelleher, Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Gomez, Szoboszlai, Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott, Nunez, Diaz
Subs: Adrian, Salah, Gakpo, Tsimikas, Robertson, Clark, McConnell, Nallo, Koumas.
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker (c), Stones, Akanji, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Alvarez, Foden, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Dias, Kovacic, Doku, Gomez, Gvardiol, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis
TACTICS
Ederson will be between the posts and supported by a four-man defence of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Rodrigo and Bernardo Silva will anchor the midfield with Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez supporting Erling Haaland in attack.
FODEN IN FORM
Phil Foden is flying right now and he’ll be keen to continue that trajectory in the cauldron of Anfield this afternoon.
He proved to the match winner against Manchester United in our last top-flight clash and you wouldn’t bet against him doing it all over again as we take on Liverpool, another of our most fierce rivals.
The playmaking midfielder has actually scored seven goals in his last seven away appearances for City in all competitions.
He’s also both scored and assisted in two separate Premier League games against Liverpool (July 2020 & February 2021), with no player doing so three times in the competition.
Foden has been directly involved in 18 Premier League goals this season, too (11 goals, 7 assists), his most in a single campaign for City and he also ranks in the top five for chances created in open play (50), shots attempted (83) and shots on target (34) in the Premier League this season.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne also boast good numbers heading to Anfield, today.
Haaland has scored 18 goals in 16 appearances away from the Etihad across all competitions this season, netting five goals at Luton in the FA Cup last time out on the road.
The 2022/23 Premier League Player of the Year has also scored in each of his last two games against Liverpool in all competitions, both at the Etihad as he looks to come alive at Anfield today.
De Bruyne has had a hand in nine goals across his last eight appearances against Liverpool in all competitions (4 goals, 5 assists), and has 10 goal involvements in just eight appearances away from the Etihad in all competitions this season (2 goals, 8 assists).
Here’s to one – or more of them – stepping up this afternoon in this crunch clash.
WATCH: Liverpool v City: Klopp v Pep takes centre stage!
PEP V JURGEN
There’s no getting away from it, Liverpool v City’s key talking point this week has been Pep Guardiola v Jurgen Klopp.
It’s wholly understandable because it will be the last time the pair face off against each other in the top-flight for the Blues and the Reds.
It’s been a fantastic rivalry which has ignited the search for honours of both teams over the course of almost a decade.
And as we enter the final straight, both men are, once again, searching for superiority with the Premier League crown very much up for grabs.
Guardiola will want to drive City on to four in a row. Klopp will be keen for a second title for Liverpool in his final season.
Today won’t decide anything. But it will be a key marker in the march to glory.
MATCH STATS
-City have won our last nine away matches in all competitions, scoring 25 goals across that run. There’ve only been six previous instances of a top-flight side winning 10+ away games in a row, and two of those have been Pep Guardiola’s City side (11 between May and November 2017 and 20 between December 2020 and May 2021).
-Liverpool (22) and City (21) are the top two sides for points gained from losing positions in the Premier League this season. However, the side scoring first has only lost one of the last 19 league meetings between the two clubs (W13 D5 – excluding 0-0 draws), with that being the Reds’ 1-4 defeat at the Etihad Stadium last season.
-Substitutes have scored or assisted 22 goals in the Premier League this season for Liverpool (11 goals, 11 assists), with only Man City in 2011/12 (24) and Arsenal in 2009/10 (23) having more sub goal involvements in a season in the competition. A substitute has scored or assisted in their last four games, with five games in a row the Premier League record for a team having a sub score or assist, achieved by five teams previously.
-City are the only side yet to concede a Premier League goal when we’ve been losing in matches this season, scoring 10 goals while trailing. We’ve also had 75 more shots than our opponents when losing (99 for, 24 faced), the best differential of any side when behind, despite the fact we’ve trailed for the lowest percentage of minutes in games of any side in the division this season (13%).
-Liverpool have scored 10 Premier League goals in the 90th minute of matches this season, their joint-most in a single season (also 10 in 2008/09). Darwin Nunez’s goal at Nottingham Forest (98:37) was their latest goal in a Premier League match since Dirk Kuyt scored in the 102nd minute v Arsenal in April 2011.
-Liverpool have only lost one of their last 20 home league games against City (W13 D6), a 1-4 defeat in February 2021. However, home and away they have enjoyed only one win in their last eight Premier League matches against us (D4 L3), a 1-0 victory in this exact fixture at Anfield last season.
