We head to Anfield on Sunday to take on Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool in a 16:30 (UK) kick-off.
After almost three weeks without domestic football owing to the first international break of the season, it’s a welcome return to Premier League action.
City started the season excellently, winning all five league games and sitting top of the table going into the weekend.
Victory in this one would see Enzo Maresca become just the fourth manager to win his first six Premier League games in charge of a club.
With the help of Opta data, we look at the side standing in our way…
2026/27 form
Liverpool are one of five sides still unbeaten in the Premier League, having won two and lost three so far this season.
Both home games have ended in shared points – against Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
On the road they have won at Ipswich and Bournemouth but drawn with Newcastle.
That’s left them with nine points so far, sitting sixth in a Premier League table still very much taking shape.
Summer activity
Bradley Barcola was the major addition in the summer, with the France international winger swapping PSG for Merseyside.
Centre-back Jeremy Jacquet has started well alongside Virgil van Dijk after his July switch from Rennes. Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo, a versatile defender, came in on loan for the season too.
Lightning quick Spanish attacker Victor Munoz is the only other fresh face after a sparkling season with Osasuna in La Liga last term.
There were some high-profile departures too, with Mo Salah going to Trabzonspor, Ibrahima Konata for Real Madrid, Andy Robertson for Spurs and Curtis Jones to Inter.
Manager
Since arriving in the Premier League in 2023, Basque-born Iraola has captured the imagination of many with his high octane, energetic style of football.
He took Bournemouth to their record finish of sixth last season before making the move to Liverpool this summer.
It’s a major step for the 44-year-old, who had only been in charge of AEK Larnaca, Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano before joining Bournemouth.
A right-back as a player, he featured most for Athletic Club - making 510 appearances there between 2003 and 2015 before a brief stint with New York City to end his career.
He’s one of the wave of Basque managers currently in the English top-flight, with Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Xabi Alonso also hailing from the region.
Preferred formation
Liverpool are likely to stick with the 4-2-3-1 they’ve employed for much of the last couple of seasons.
Alisson is one of the Premier League’s longest serving goalkeepers now, while the back four of Milos Kerkez, van Dijk, Jacquet and Araujo appears quite settled.
Ahead of them, it could be any two out of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the double pivot.
Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are striking up something of a partnership through the middle now, with Cody Gakpo, Barcola, Rio Ngumoha and Munoz all options out wide.
Head-to-head record
City won this match home and away last season – the first time we’ve beaten them in two league games in succession since 1937.
Bernardo Silva and a stoppage time Erling Haaland turned a dramatic tie around at Anfield back in February in a spectacular game.
It’s fair to say Anfield hasn’t been our favourite hunting ground though, winning only three of our 29 trips there since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.
However, we can expect entertainment with the last 15 Premier League meetings between these two sides seeing an average of 3.1 goals per game.
How they attack
Liverpool have been known for their attacking prowess for much of the last decade, but haven’t yet been so prolific this term.
With seven goals, seven teams have scored more than them thus far.
It’s come from 76 shots, which is more than City despite us scoring six more goals than them.
They’re yet to score on the break or from a header, with just one goal from any set pieces.
With an average of 515 passes per match, they’re the sixth most possession focused in the league so far and do tend to send in a lot of crosses – 79 so far.
Isak, one of their major coups in the summer of 2025, has hit the ground running in his second term at Anfield.
He’s alongside Erling Haaland on four goals early on in the race for this year’s Golden Boot, while Cody Gakpo stands out when it comes to assists with three from 11 chances created.
How they defend
With only four goals conceded, Liverpool are the third best defence in the league at this moment.
Three of those have been scored inside the box, meaning they’re strong when it comes to preventing good chances from outside the area.
They’ve conceded just once in the first 15 and not at all in the last 15 minutes, so there doesn’t yet appear to be a weakness at either end of the game.
Having committed 65 fouls and picked up 12 yellow cards, they’re one of the teams that’s been disciplined by referees most of the 20.
Central defenders Jacquet and van Dijk are two of the best in the Premier League when it comes to duels, winning 76.3% and 74.1% respectively.
Alisson is tied when it comes to the most clean sheets so far, keeping opponents out in three of their five matches up until now.
City v Paris Saint-Germain: Make a Night of It!
Enjoy our mouthwatering UEFA Champions League home opener against Paris Saint-Germain with a hospitality experience.
It should be quite the game as the 2023 winners take on Luis Enrique’s holders, the French team having triumphed in both 2025 and 2026 by seeing off Inter Milan and Arsenal.
We take on PSG on Wednesday 14 October with a 20:00 (UK) kick-off as we look to follow up on our away victory over FC Porto on Matchnight One with another success under the lights of the Etihad Stadium.
Hospitality is now on sale and prices start from £145.
There’s good availability in our stunning new Pep Guardiola Stand suites – Crossbar, City Hall and Zadie’s.
Hospitality is available for all four of our home European matches - PSG, AEK Athens, Napoli and Sporting CP.
We have 20% off City Hall and Crossbar when two or more UCL League Phase games are purchased – the offer will automatically be added in your basket when you add two or more fixtures.
Make a Night of It and ensure your matchday is an unforgettable one by booking one of our incredible hospitality experiences.
