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Fireworks are firmly anticipated at Anfield this Sunday when Liverpool host Manchester City in the Premier League. Illustrious styles of football, impeccable talent in the dugouts and heavy investment in quality players has all combined to see these two clubs rise to the very top of the English game over the last few years and their destinies – at least in terms of this season’s title race – now seem largely intertwined.
Their four meetings last season produced a whopping 18 goals and also announced Liverpool as the best qualified team to knock the champions off their perch, winning three of them including this exact fixture in January. So, will Liverpool deliver a hammer blow to City’s title defence or can Pep Guardiola’s side claim a crucial win at the home of their divisional rivals?
This week’s experts, Chris McMullan from Digital Sport and former Live4Liverpool editor George Dagless, share their thoughts and predictions ahead of Sunday’s huge encounter…
Both sides are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season, separated by only goal difference at the top of the table after six wins from seven games, but Liverpool actually enter Sunday’s game at something of a lull. They’ve not won in three games and failed to even manage a shot on target in a 1-0 defeat to Napoli in midweek.
After such a strong start to the season, what’s been the difference for Liverpool in those games?
George: “There’s just been a slight drop off in intensity. Klopp’s heavy metal approach has been toned down this year. There’s still intensity but with a bit more control. Whether or not that always suits the players remains to be seen but in the long-run I think it will work. Just knowing when to apply the brakes and when to go for it is good game management – it just seems against the toughest opponents we’re still working that out. I thought at Stamford Bridge, though, we looked like we were getting it and though the Napoli perforamance was poor, I’m not overly worried yet.”
Could it be time to bring Fabinho into the midfield to try and steady the ship?
George: “I think any other game we’d see Fabinho in but it seems like a massive task for a player who’s hardly played thus far. Naby Keita is a doubt so if he doesn’t start I think the midfield picks itself. I’d love to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fit for this one but he isn’t and so it’ll be Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Jordan Henderson who, hopefully, will be back to their best on Sunday.”
For Manchester City, meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has a few key decisions to make. Benjamin Mendy now appears to be available after a bout on the sidelines, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll actually start. Despite being an immensely talented player, his ill-discipline off the pitch – chiefly, turning up three hours late for injury treatment the morning after watching Anthony Joshua at Wembley – could see Guardiola leave him out of Sunday’s big clash.
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Does Mendy deserve to start City’s biggest game of the season so far?
Chris: “No, I don’t think so. Despite the fact he’s clearly a phenomenal talent, and the fact that left-back was the one clear obvious place where City have been lacking over the last year, I actually think that City have looked better without him in that role.
“For one thing, it seems to bring the best out of Leroy Sane. And although Aymeric Laporte didn’t cover himself in glory at full-back in the Anfield Champions League game last season, it might be best to stick with 4-3-3 and Sane and Raheem Sterling either side of Sergio Aguero.”
There’s no doubt Jurgen Klopp’s side have the psychological edge over Manchester City. They were the first team to beat them in the Premier League last season in a seven-goal thriller at Anfield, ending a 23-game unbeaten run, and then eliminated them from the Champions League a few months later with similar lung-bursting performances that seemed to simply overawe City and their possession-retaining style of play.
What are the biggest factors behind this hold Liverpool seem to have over City?
Chris: “It has to be Liverpool’s style of play. Their high-pressing style puts City under pressure and it only takes a momentary lapse to put them under severe duress. For well over an hour in both Champions League games as well as the Anfield Premier League game this year, Manchester City dominated proceedings, but it didn’t stop them losing each and every time. This is a significant mental block for City, and the more they go to Liverpool and lose, the more the current fevered hype around the Anfield atmosphere becomes part of the narrative. Soon, it’ll be very hard to ignore.”
And what do Liverpool need to replicate to ensure another win over City?
George: “Bravery and timing. It seemed to me last year that only Liverpool genuinely felt that they could beat City home or away. At the right times the Reds went for the jugular and despite City’s quality and form, they unravelled like any other side has when we put our foot down. I’ve mentioned that we seem to have turned down the tempo slightly from last year and that’s fine for moments in this game when City will be a threat. They hate it as much as anyone else when we get in their face, though, so I’m hoping we’ll pick exactly the right moments at which to get at them and get them under the cosh.”
There is one big difference between Sunday’s game and the four clashes last season, in that arguably neither side are luxury to their best player right now. While Kevin De Bruyne could return from injury incredibly early to have some kind of involvement this weekend, he certainly won’t be in the starting XI. For Liverpool, meanwhile, Mohamed Salah isn’t injured but has played far below the standards he’s set so far this season and was tellingly hauled off by Klopp in the Reds’ last Premier League outing, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with nearly half an hour still to play.
With Salah out of form, who will be Liverpool’s most influential player on Sunday?
Chris: “Someone in the midfield. In the Champions League games between the two last season, it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who really stood out, pressing City’s midfield into oblivion and scoring a great goal himself in the process. Without him and potentially Keita, Liverpool’s midfield will have to go above and beyond if they’re to put the fear of God into City again.”
Where will this game be lost and won?
George: “Take your pick, there are huge battles all over the pitch. I think the two flanks could be crucial to be honest. Kyle Walker and Mendy will be bombing on, as will Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The four will have to get their positioning spot on because otherwise there’ll be an overload and both teams have players waiting in the box that only need one chance. Anfield is a tight pitch – whoever can make this game as expansive as possible and achieves quicker transitions on the turnover of possession wins this one.”
And finally chaps, let’s hear your score predictions…
Chris: “I’m going for a draw here – 1-1.”
George: “It’s a tough one. My heart says the Reds turn it up to 11 and win 3-0. My head’s saying 2-2.”
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