Phil Foden and Oleks Zinchenko are recalled with Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus dropping to then bench.
Kyle Walker is not fully fit and misses today’s game.
Teams:
City: Ederson, Cancelo, Zinchenko, Dias, Stones, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Foden, Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling
Subs: Steffen, Jesus, Laporte, Torres, Mendy, Fernandinho, Garcia, Doyle, Bernabe
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Henderson, Robertson, Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Milner, Adrian, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kabak, Tsimikas, Shaqiri, Origi, Phillips, Neco Williams.
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Formation: 4-3-3
Though City’s formation against Burnley had more a look of 3-4-3, today’s is very much a more familiar 4-3-3.
Joao Cancelo and Oleks Zinchenko will be tasked with stopping Liverpool’s flying full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, though the more the City pair can push forward, the better.
Ruben Dias and John Stones will face the regular front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah.
Despite their recent Anfield setbacks, Liverpool looked sharp in their games against Spurs and West Ham, with Salah in particular looking threatening.
It is likely to be a testing afternoon for the meanest defence in the Premier League, but Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva will equally look to cause the Reds plenty of problems with a regular supply line to Raheem Sterling.
raheem looks to end Anfield jinx
Raheem Sterling finally scored against Liverpool when he scored one of the goals in the 4-0 Etihad win towards the end of last season.
Scoring at Anfield would be another milestone for today’s skipper.
Usually a target for the Liverpool boo-boys, Sterling won’t have the that pressure or spotlight on this occasion and if he does find the net, it will be his 100th City goal under Pep Guardiola.
in form city stars to shine again?
City’s midfield is arguably the most in-form in the country, with Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Rodrigo all outstanding in recent weeks.
For Foden, it is the chance to show how far he has come against the Premier League champions and if he can work his magic this afternoon, it could be the difference between the teams.
Gundogan has been exceptional and City will look for him to set the tempo today.
With Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez also flying in recent weeks, another 90 minutes of the same kind of form and Liverpool will know they have been in a game.
STATS
• A 14th consecutive City win in all competitions would equal the record by a top-flight English club, set by Preston in 1892 and matched by Arsenal in 1987.
• City could also keep a club record seventh Premier League clean sheet in a row.
• Ederson has gone 768 minutes without conceding a league goal, and has more clean sheets (13) than goals conceded (12) in the top flight this season.
• City have conceded just once in the 11 league matches Ruben Dias and John Stones have started together (W10, D1), with that goal a late consolation for Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
• Raheem Sterling is without a goal in all six of his appearances for City at Anfield, last scoring there on 13 April 2015 whilst a Liverpool player.
• Liverpool could lose three consecutive league games at Anfield, a sequence they last recorded in 1963.
• The Reds could also fail to score in four consecutive top-flight home matches for the first time in their history.
• Liverpool are the only Premier League side without a home goal in 2021 and have gone 348 minutes - just under six hours - without scoring at Anfield.
• Jurgen Klopp’s team have lost four of their 22 league fixtures this season, as many as in the previous two campaigns combined.
• The Merseysiders had just one shot on target against Brighton, their lowest total in a home league game since April 2017.
• Liverpool have gone 17 top-flight games unbeaten against City at Anfield (W12, D5), with their solitary home defeat in the past 29 meetings coming in May 2003.
• City’s 17-match winless streak at Liverpool is their longest in the Premier League away to any opponent.
• City are also without a victory in all 14 of their previous league matches at Anfield when Liverpool have been the reigning champions, losing 10 times.
• The only away win in the past 24 league meetings between these sides was Liverpool’s 4-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium in November 2015.
